Tears of a Swordsman
by dragoscilvio
Summary: The unexpected happens when the only thing capable of bringing Zoro to his knees comes through a letter. Can the crew help him through his grief? Now a Drabble Fic! Chapter 11: Zoro looked at her, his mouth hanging open before his gaze went blank "I can't remember," he sighed "I think I got lost again…in my head…"
1. Tears of a Swordsman

**Hello! My name is Dragoscilvio(Drago for short) and this is just something I thought of off the top of my head that seemed interesting enough to gnaw at my brain for days on end until I wrote it.**

**It MAY become a drabble series, but that all depends on whether you the reviewers want it to be. Let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters**

**Summary: The unexpected happens when the only thing capable of bringing Zoro to his knees comes through a letter. Can the crew help him through his grief?**

**Warnings: None…I don't cuss, all my work is family friendly, and I don't ship homosexual relationships in any way shape or form…so yeah.**

…

The day was sunny, the waves were bright, and the Thousand Sunny cut through the waves like the proud lion that it was. On board, the Straw Hats were enjoying the time of repose with their own forms of relaxation. Usopp sat on the grass, Chopper watching his every move, and was grinding up plants and gunpowder to make his exploding stars. Franky was banging away on his newest contraption, a mask covering his face to protect him any time he used the blow torch on the metal parts. Robin, as per usual, was reading a book on a lawn chair. Sanji was in the kitchen cooking lunch, Nami was writing in her daily ledger, Brook was playing a merry tune to match the waves, Zoro was napping near the prow, and Luffy was playing among the rigging.

Suddenly a loud caw split the air, and Nami glanced up into the sky, one hand shielding her eyes from the sun's glare, and her face split in a wide grin as she saw the mail bird flying towards their ship. Running towards the white bird, the ginger headed girl eagerly snatched up the envelopes and paid the bird their monthly fee for its services.

"Guys, the mail's here!" Nami called merrily, her arm going back and forth as she waved a bright thank you to the mail bird as it flew away.

"Sweet!" Luffy grinned as he bounced towards the ginger and proceeded to dance around her clapping his hands excitedly "Anything for me? Huh, huh, huh? Anything for me, Nami?"

"Uh…" the navigator answered slowly as she shuffled through the letters in her hands before giving an apologetic smile to her captain "Sorry Luffy, nothing for you today."

"Aw…" the dark haired teen slumped forward with an endearing pout before shrugging his shoulders and brightened his features "Oh well, hey Chopper, let's play!"

"Ok!" the little reindeer called from where he was standing on the grass.

Nami giggled at her crewmembers before returning to searching through the letters and her eyes widened when she noticed the last one in the bunch "Hey Zoro!" she yelled her features full of surprise as she turned towards the spot where the swordsman was currently napping on the other side of the ship "There's a letter for you from Shimotsuki Village!"

The green haired man's eye popped open, and he stumbled to his feet and rushed to the railing, his face blank and eyes wide with uncharacteristic surprise at such a thing being on the ship "…Huh…?"

Nami snorted in amusement shaking her head "Nicely said Zoro," she chuckled before turning to Sanji "Sanji-kun, could you be a doll and take this letter to Zoro so I don't have to walk all the way over there?"

Sanji flung his arms into the air, his body turning into a limp noodle as hearts popped out of his eyes "Of course, anything for you my angel!"

Grabbing the letter, the blond jumped over the railing, running across the Sunny and shoving the envelope into Zoro's hands and snarling "Here ya go, moss head,"

Zoro grit his teeth, an angry vein throbbing in his temple before he shook his head, and let his curiosity over the letter override his irritation with a certain cook.

Tearing open the letter, the entire crew fell silent as they watched their swordsman begin scanning the letter's contents, and a heavy feeling of dread fell as they noticed him begin to pale and his eyes widen with shock.

Sanji shifted his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable with the sudden change in mood, his keen eyes watching Zoro as his heart thudded in fear at what he saw.

The normally stoic man suddenly began to tremble, and his breath came in low shallow gasps. The hand not currently gripping the piece of paper ran its way through messy green hair, and Zoro caught his bottom lip between his teeth in a valiant effort to keep it from quivering but only succeeded in making it worse as his chin began to wrinkle up and a choked sob escaped clenched lips. Zoro swallowed, over and over repeatedly, trying to dispel the boiling beneath his sinuses, but suddenly his vision blurred and the unthinkable happened. A tear slowly rolled down his tan cheek and dripped to the ground.

The crew watched the tear fall, as much horrified as they were mesmerized by its mere existence. And as the salty drop splashed onto the deck, each crew member winced at the sound, and finally cast shock filled gazes back onto the struggling swordsman.

Sanji was the closest to the swordsman, and his cigarette had long fallen to the ground, almost at the same time as the unbelievable tear, and the man stood in shock as his mind raced to process just what was occurring less than three feet away from him.

"O-Oi," Sanji stammered alarm bells ringing in his brain as he suddenly realized that Zoro, unbeatable Zoro, the crazy man who took on Mihawk and lived, was…_crying_ "Is getting a letter from home so strange? Can't say that I blame them for not wanting to write an idiot like yo-"

"…Shut up…"

Sanji stopped at the quiet snarl, his heart practically exploding in his chest with fear at the horrible irregularity of the current situation "Huh?"

"I said," Zoro repeated turning red rimmed, tear stained eyes to his rival, his mouth a bitter snarl and his face a mask of unbridled agony, and screamed "SHUT UP!"

Planting a meaty hand on the railing in front of him, the moss haired man vaulted over white washed wood, and landed on the grass below. Ducking his head in shame so not having to face any of his crew, and praying they would not see the tears now streaming freely down his face, he sprinted across the grass, and through the door towards the men's quarters, slamming it shut in the process.

"O-Oi," Luffy murmured as his wide cobalt eyes stared at the door his first mate just disappeared through "what's wrong with Zoro?"

"I…I don't know," Nami said softly shaking her head as one hand slowly reached up to cover her lips.

Suddenly Luffy's gaze darkened and he flung angry eyes towards the cook "What did you do Sanji?"

Sanji jerked back like Luffy's words had been a physical slap "I didn't do anything." He replied quietly his eyes beseeching the captain, pleading the dark haired boy to believe his innocence "Really, I didn't,"

"Zoro was fine until you went over there," Luffy growled "and he told you to shut up before running away. Zoro _never_ runs away, so what did you do?"

"I was just joking with him the way we always do," The blond replied weakly with a shrug as he struggled to convince Luffy that he wasn't the enemy here "I didn't know that he would freak out like that…I mean…he never, you know…cries."

The last word was barely above a whisper, and it was enough to drive the entire crew back into silence as a cold wind suddenly blew through causing each one to shiver involuntarily. Luffy merely pulled his hat low over his eyes, and turned his back on Sanji.

"Fix it."

With those simple words, he turned and walked into the galley, leaving Sanji standing on the deck.

Glancing around the ship helplessly, Sanji gave a swallow and rushed towards the door to chase after their swordsman, scared of what he might find.

…..

Zoro stumbled down the hallway after slamming his way through the door, his already blurry vision was getting worse and made it impossible to see where he was going. Thankfully he knew where the men's quarters were, and flung himself through the door, and shuffled through the darkness, his hands hastily wiping away the accursed tears, before suddenly tripping over a crate.

Looking around, his eye adjusted to the dim lighting, and Zoro wondered at how he managed to get into one of the many storage rooms in the bottom of the ship. "Stupid Franky and his retarded moving rooms," Zoro sniffled from where he lay before once again falling silent.

Pulling his legs up, the green haired swordsman wrapped his arms around them, tucking his knees under his chin. His Adam's apple bobbed as he gave a heavy swallow, and felt tears burn the edges of his eyes in another fresh onslaught. Burying his face in the fabric of his pants, his shoulders convulsed with a silent sob, and his muscles bulged as he fought to regain control. But it was a lost battle, and Zoro knew it. Some blades could not be blocked, and the one the letter carried was already buried deep inside his heart, giving a painful twist with every second that passed.

Minutes ticked by, the silence of the store room being broken by the choked coughs that Zoro allowed to drift up from the floor, a lone warrior doing battle with his own emotions, struggling to once again pin them down and force them into submission…but was losing miserably.

Suddenly footsteps pounded past the door, before pausing, and running back to it. The door creaked as it opened, and Zoro's senses went into high gear preservation mode as he slithered across the floor and hid behind a crate, but unfortunately his visitor had seen his escape, because the footsteps clopped closer and closer until they were directly in front of him.

Hating himself with every fiber of his being for the amount of weakness he was showing, Zoro kept his legs in a fierce hug against his chest and his face firmly buried in his knees, not daring to look up and meet the eyes that were surely looking down at him in disgust.

"Zoro,"

The green haired man tensed even more at the voice, his shoulders hunching in a childish wish to disappear and be left alone and unseen "…Go away…" he croaked.

"Zoro, if it was something I said…" Sanji persisted, his hands wringing in front of him in a public show of how helpless he felt.

"I said go away!" Zoro yelled into his knees, his voice cracking halfway through.

"Look I'm sorry," Sanji exploded his frustration bleeding through as he tried not to growl at the man "I didn't mean what I said, I mean, we always insult each other like that and I just thought you would do what you always do, and respond with your usual hostility-!"

"Just…" Zoro cut in, finally lifting his head and meeting Sanji's eyes, making the blond to immediately swallow his words at the pleading defeated look haunting them "…leave me alone…please…"

Sanji's breath caught in his throat as he looked at his nakama, the usually string unmovable mountain now reduced to looking very much like a little boy, lost and alone in the middle of a sea of hurt.

Zoro cast green eyes swimming in shame and sorrow back to the floor, before once again resting one cheek on his knees, careful to angle his face away from the cook.

Sanji slowly sat down on the floor, his captain's command to fix whatever was wrong with Zoro echoing in his head, and he gave a forlorn sigh loaded with confusion on just how to do that. Suddenly though, like a light bulb, an idea sparked in his brain and the blond pinned his eyes on the letter still lying on the floor next to the swordsman.

With slow measured movements, the cook reached forward as casually as he could, and inched his hand toward the letter until he was able to gently clasp it between two fingertips. Pulling it back from its resting place, Sanji sent a quick glance at Zoro, a wince adorning his features as worry that he may suddenly incur his wrath from invading his privacy burned in his stomach. Thankfully though, the green haired man had not moved an inch, and showed no sign of acknowledging what Sanji was currently doing.

With a silent prayer of gratitude sent to the heavens, Sanji brought the letter up to his face, and read it slowly.

_**Zoro,**_

_**My name is Katsuko.**_

_**No doubt you have no idea who this is, as we have never met, and I did not begin my training in the dojo until after you had left. However I am writing in order inform you that our master Koshiro-Sensei has passed on from this life.**_

_**I am sure that you remember how Sensei's health was always fragile, unfortunately the past few years it took a turn for the worst, and this time Koshiro-Sensei was unable to pull through like he always did. **_

_**Before he died, he told me to make sure that I wrote you specifically, to give you his last words…**_

Sanji stopped, unable to go any further in the letter, knowing that those words were surely something deeply personal for the swordsman, and did not want to invade any more than he already had.

Placing the letter back on the floor, the cook sighed, his shoulders giving an involuntary shiver as he imagined getting a similar letter concerning Zeff from the Baratie "I'm so sorry Zoro, I can't even imagine…"

Zoro drew in a shaky breath, frustration at not being allowed to grieve on his own coating his words as he whispered "Don't talk, I don't feel like listening to empty words."

The blond, not for the first time that day or even the second, was struck dumb. _'How heartless does the marimo think I am?'_

Elegant fists clenched, as a sudden urge to prove Zoro wrong, that he wasn't here to degrade or insult him, rising up in his heart. And with a huff of agitation, the man scooted forward across the floor so to sit next to the swordsman, and wrap an arm around his shoulders.

Zoro tensed at the contact, a grimace biting into his knees "What are you doing?" he snarled.

Sanji shrugged, uncomfortable with the height of the limb he was currently walking out on, but kept his arm where it lay "Not talking."

One trembling hand rose from where it had been gripping his pant leg, and instead clutched mossy green hair as Zoro puzzled through Sanji's words. Why wasn't he berating him for his childishness? Where were the insults, or the cruel words showing just how disgusted the cook was with his pathetic display of weakness?

But instead, Zoro's expectations were neatly shot down by the warm arm offering strength to its nakama, and the swordsman felt his resolve that he had spent so much time and effort into building beginning to crumble, and the tears once again began to stain the material covering his knees which were still tucked under his chin.

Sanji sat there, biting his bottom lips as he felt the palpable waves of sorrow literally roll off his nakama, and unconsciously squeezed the man closer to him in a one armed hug. That was all the encouragement Zoro needed as the walls shattered and a harsh sob rocked his frame. His chest heaved as his breaths became shorter and more ragged until finally he leaned against the blond, and allowed a wail of pure grief explode from his lips.

Sanji rubbed circles on the man's back, pulling him closer, and felt another sorrow filled sigh slip past his lips. The broad shoulders, usually so unyielding and strong as they bore the brunt of everyone else's pain, now convulsed and shuddered as broken sobs were muffled by the cook's shoulder. One muscular hand had now attached itself to the front of Sanji's shirt, and as the green haired swordsman clutched it like a lifeline Sanji couldn't even muster the smallest bit of resentment at what might be a ruined shirt.

How long they sat there, the cook lost track, but after what honestly felt like hours of helpless sobs and grieved cries, Sanji finally felt the trembling cease and the hulking mass turned to dead weight as Zoro effectively cried himself into an oblivion of sleep.

As carefully as possible, Sanji crept out from under the man, gently detaching the fingers still gripping his shirt, and began his walk back to the galley where the crew was no doubt waiting his return. Quickly dipping down though, the cook folded up his jacket and placed it under Zoro's head. Nodding in satisfaction, he ducked out of the storeroom, and down the hall, he had plans that needed to be discussed with the crew.

…

Zoro woke up, his eyes gritty from sleep, and swollen from crying.

Rubbing them, Zoro gave a harsh wince as he remembered bawling like a small child on the cook, and slapped his forehead with an aggravated palm "I must have looked like some pathetic weakling," he snarled to himself.

Standing up, Zoro gathered up the letter, and folded it back up before gently tucking it away in a pocket. With a huff of irritation, he slapped his legs helplessly, his eyes dancing between his hiding place and the door. All his instincts were urging him to run, to dive out the door, and cast himself into the unforgiving depths of the sea. However he really didn't want to leave his spot behind the crate, maybe he could just camp out here…for the rest of his life.

'_No, nononononoNO!' _Zoro slapped his cheeks a few times shaking his head vigorously. He refused to act even more like a weakling by hiding away.

True, his stomach was sinking because he was honestly afraid that Sanji would tell the crew about him acting like a complete baby and teasing him about it for the rest of their lives, but he didn't want to prove any insults the love cook came up with to be true by skulking in a corner like a coward.

Squaring his shoulders, the first mate finally decided to walk through the door with his head held high, and accept the consequences of his weakness earlier. However that plan was neatly squashed when the door he was reaching for swung open and slammed him in the nose.

Sanji felt the impact, and a soft groan of pain floated from behind the door. Peeking around the wood, the cook smiled apologetically at the swordsman as he stood clutching his face, two fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as if to stem a possible nosebleed. The cook opened his mouth to apologize, but Zoro waved him away, his eyes clenched shut as he breathed heavily though his nose and focused on not yelling at the blond.

Clearing his throat Sanji spoke hoping to dispel the tension "Uh…" he said hesitating for just a moment "we're anchored at an island, and are going ashore."

"What time is it?" the swordsman grunted.

"A little after midnight,"

This made Zoro open his good eye and raise an eyebrow in question "Then why are we going ashore?"

"B-Because," Sanji stammered "we…we wanted to do something for you…"

Zoro buried his face into his hands as a sound caught between a growl and a groan rumbled in his chest "You told…?" he whined.

"Ye-es," Sanji answered slowly with a wince "and I know you probably don't want to, but all I ask is that…that you roll with it...ok? Please?"

Zoro sighed, peeking between his fingers at the cook's pleading face, and felt his former resolve to refuse said request give in. He _had_ said please, and this would probably both the first and the last time he ever heard that word come from the man's mouth. So with a longsuffering sigh, Zoro finally snarled "Whatever."

"Good, meet you on shore then."

With a click, Sanji quickly closed the door, and the swordsman was left on his own.

….

The first thing Zoro saw when walking down the gangplank was the crew gathered on the beach of a peaceful alcove on the edge of a forest. Walking down the wood, he frowned at how loud his footsteps sounded, and how quickly they garnered the attention of those standing on the sand. Luffy gave a gentle grin, and approached his first mate, reaching forward and giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"You ready?"

"For what?"

The captain smiled at Zoro's question "You'll see."

Gripping his wrist, in what Zoro and Luffy both knew was a silent command that he was not allowed to run away as well as insurance that he could not get away even if he tried, Luffy led the moss haired swordsman away from the ship to a spot in the alcove where you could see the moon shining on the water. Bringing him close to the edge, Luffy gestured for Nami and Robin, and the girls came forward one carrying a candle on a beautifully crafted miniature wooden raft and the other matches.

Robin lit a match, and handed it to Zoro "Light the candle Swordsman-san,"

Zoro felt a lump ball up in his throat as he realized what they were doing. This was not to be a rough and rowdy party where Zoro was forced to act cheerful so not to hurt his captain's feelings in the boy's attempt to make him feel better. This was a genuine show of love for their nakama by helping him show a last moment of honor and respect for a man who was like a father to him by holding a candlelit funeral service.

Zoro lit the candle, and Nami gave it to him, her eyes softening as she noticed how his hands shook with suppressed emotion.

Kneeling down at the water's edge, Zoro felt his eyes tear up when he noticed that each straw hat crew member had lit their own candle, and were setting them adrift on the water. Pushing his own candle out to join the others, the swordsman swiped at his face and cleared his throat, trying once again to valiantly fight against the tsunami of emotion driving him towards tears as he sat on the sand.

Nami and Robin picked up on this, giving each other a nod of agreement moved together in unison to sit on either side of Zoro and wrap him in a hug.

The tears came faster, burning their way down his cheeks, and the swordsman mentally groaned in frustration with himself _'Not again!'_ he cried.

However, that groan came out as a pained whimper, and Nami bit her lip with concern at how Zoro didn't feel comfortable enough around them to show true emotion. Standing on her knees, she ran her fingers through his hair whispered gently in his ear "You don't have to hold back, we won't think less of you for it, no one should be forced to be emotionless when someone they care about dies."

"…But…"

"No buts," Nami shook her head vehemently at Zoro's refusal "we're nakama, aren't we? That means we're family, and family is here for each other. We fight side by side, we party together, and we laugh together, but it would all be meaningless if we can't cry together too. If we can't even do that much, then we don't deserve to say we're nakama."

With that said, Nami fell silent, and hugged Zoro tightly, allowing him to chew on her words. Luffy grinned as he walked over and sat on the sand, his rubbery arms wrapping around Zoro's thick neck, hugging him close "Nami's right," he said seriously though not without a mischievous twinkle in his eye "we're family, and what's the point of saying so if we can't be there for each other?"

"And we love you so much," Chopper cried jumping into Zoro's lap and hugging his middle "we love you more than you know!"

"WAAAAH!" Franky wept into one beefy arm as he knelt down and pulled the entire group into a huge hug "Zoro-bro! We love you man!"

"My heart is warmed by this wonderful feeling of familial love," Brook sighed before pausing "Ah, but I have no heart, _Skull Joke_! Yohohoohoho!"

"Listen to them idiot swordsman," Sanji smirked from where he stood behind the huddled mass of bodies "and maybe you might get this through your thick skull."

"To put it simply Swordsman-san," Robin said softly "you don't have to grieve alone, you have your family here to carry the burden with you."

The tears were now dripping from his face, and Zoro returned the hug as best he could given his cramped space, but no one doubted his gratitude when he finally said in a whisper that rode on a sob "Thank you,"

The group stayed like that, with multiple group hugs being called for by various people throughout the entire night, and if Zoro finally allowed himself to break and shed a few tears on the shoulders of his nakama the crew never teased him about or insulted him over it later.

Because after all, that's what nakama is for.

**So what did you think?**

**If you want me to make this a drabble series where I do family one shots, that are (I warn you) mostly likely Zoro-centric, then please tell me so in your review.**

**If I don't get reviews with your opinion, then no drabble series.**

**Ok, Bye!**


	2. Switched!

**Hello! So I decided to make this a drabble fic, and I will accept requests or suggestions, so please feel free to leave them.**

**Due to a request, I'm doing a special drabble for Usopp and Zoro, and it is more of a comedy than family fluff. Btw, this drabble is set post time skip, and I will make sure to clarify any time that I step outside **

**So enjoy, and don't forget to review and drop any requests that you may have.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Oda…because Oda is not female so I obviously don't own anything.**

**Warnings: Bandage your ribs, because I don't want you to bust them from laughing too hard.**

High on a cliff, a lone figure watched a Pirate Ship with a lion prow anchor in at the local dock. Her face twisted into a malicious smile as she checked the picture on the wanted picture in her hand. A cheeky grin and a waving hand graced the front of the page, accompanied by his bounty of $400,000,000. The woman licked her lips in anticipation as she watched the crew scurry around the deck prepping the ship so to disembark.

"Just a little longer," she whispered "and that bounty will be all mine."

…

Zoro sat up from where he had been pulling the sails and tying them to the mast, the muscles in his arms rippling as he stretched them high above his head, and gave a large yawn. He was exhausted. He had put himself through a training regimen that even he had thought was a tad overboard, but then a storm hit, and they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off just to survive. Finally the tempest ceased, leaving the whole crew strung out on the deck, only for Nami to cry that there was an Island in the distance.

Thankfully though it was a beautiful day, and the sun was high. It was the ideal kind of day where Zoro honestly wouldn't mind being designated to guard the ship so he could just nap in the sun. However that was not meant to be.

"Alright," Nami yelled "Robin and I will do some scouting around town, and research the local area. Franky, I want you to run a full diagnostic of the ship and make sure the storm didn't hurt it."

"Are you questioning my ability to build a ship, sis?" Franky yelled indignantly.

Nami raised an eyebrow at him and chuckled fondly "No, I'm not Franky, but even you have to admit that the storms here in the New World are unpredictable, and even the best ships can still sustain damage."

Franky turned, waving Nami off and grumbling good-naturedly leaving the ginger to shake her head with a smirk "Okay," she continued "Sanji, you can take Zoro, Usopp, and Luffy to go shopping and carry groceries."

"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji cried with hearts beating out of his eyes as he noodled.

"Aw, man," Zoro spat as his hopes of sleeping on the ship waved farewell.

"Shut up idiot," Sanji sighed at the swordsman "don't act like you were planning to do anything else other than sleep."

"You wanna fight, dartboard brow?" Zoro snarled.

"Bring it on, Moss Head!"

"SHUT UP AND STOP FIGHTING!" Nami screamed hitting both of them upside the head.

Turning her back on the unconscious bodies of her teammates, Nami continued "Brook, you and Chopper will guard the ship, ok?"

"Okeydokey!" Chopper smiled "Robin, can you pick up any books you think I might find interesting for me?"

"Of course," the woman smiled fondly, tapping Chopper's nose playfully.

"Thanks!"

"Ok, Let's go!" Nami yelled pumping her fist into the air.

"YEAH!"

…

"Oi, Zoro," Sanji bent over a stall one finger tapping his lips as he scrutinized the contents.

The swordsman stopped, heaving a load of boxes that would crush any normal person onto one shoulder and stood next to the cook "Yeah?"

"We both know that Luffy will want meat, and steak sounds like a good idea for tonight, but which do you think I should buy, The New York Strip or a T-bone?"

Zoro pursed his lips in careful thought, pausing before giving his answer "T-bone," he finally replied "The Strip tends to shrink, and we need as much as possible with Luffy's stomach."

"That's what I was thinking too," the blond nodded before turning to the vendor "oi, I want your best cuts of the T-bone, about fifty pounds worth."

Usopp grimaced, and turned to Luffy, a conspiratorial grin on his face "It always creeps me out when they get along." He whispered.

"Shishishishishi," Luffy giggled "no kidding."

"Excuse me," a voice purred from the alleyway.

All four young men turned to see a lady shrouded in a dark robe, only a small smile visible to their eyes, "What are you supposed to be?" Zoro wondered aloud.

"I'm a wanderer," the woman said softly, "and I am in dire need of the help of strong young men…such as yourselves."

Sanji spun like a tornado until he screeched to a stop in front of the woman, kneeling in front of her and holding her hand mere inches from his lips "Anything for a lady," he said gallantly.

"Oh give me a break," Zoro sighed rolling his eyes.

"YOU WANNA FIGHT?!" Sanji snarled leaping to his feet and grabbing Zoro by the front of his shirt.

"See what I mean," Usopp murmured absently "they're much less freaky when they're being hostile."

"Shishishishishi!"

The woman blinked slowly, before clearing her throat "Excuse me, are you going to help, or not? I'm willing to pay you if you are."

The two taller men stopped fighting long enough to regard the woman thoughtfully "Well," Zoro finally sighed to the cook "I know _you_ are going to help her even if we don't, and I also know that the _sea witch_ will make my life miserable if I turn up a chance to get her money and pay a portion of my so called 'debt'."

"Meaning?" The woman quipped.

"Meaning we're in," Usopp groaned shifting the boxes in his arms to a more comfortable position.

"Wonderful," lady smiled "please follow me."

Nodding to each other, the group followed the mysterious woman, Luffy grinning all the way "I smell an adventure," he giggled manically.

"Yep," Usopp grumbled "that's what I'm afraid of."

…

The woman led them through the alleys until they left the city entirely and were standing in an isolated grove of trees. The young men set the boxes down when the woman came to a stop, and waited for her to explain her situation.

"So," Luffy grinned excitedly "what do you want us to do?"

"I want you to…" the woman purred before turning around and throwing off her hooded cloak in one smooth motion "hand your captain over to me so I can collect his bounty."

There standing in front of them was a curvaceous woman, her shirt was a button down made of black leather with a white t-shirt underneath, and her legs were covered by faded jeans, with black commando boots on her feet. Her hair was a dark purple, and her eyes were a bright green.

"Oh great," Zoro snarled "a bounty hunter."

"A WHAT?!" Usopp shrieked as he dove to hide behind the boxes of food.

"Yes," the hunter laughed "but not just any bounty hunter, my name is Sahara, and I assure you that I am far different from any other bounty hunter you have ever met."

Sanji, not flirting or noodling for once, eyed the lady with a serious gaze "I'm sorry, but we can't allow you to take our captain."

"That's too bad," the woman said with a mocking pout before it became a malicious grin "I guess I'll take him myself."

"Go ahead and try," Zoro snarled striding forward to stand between the hunter and his nakama while drawing his swords.

"Ooh, so brave," the woman smirked "but unfortunately that will be your undoing."

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Usopp quavered from where he was hiding behind the boxes.

"Ah, the coward," Sahara smiled with a smile of a cat that caught her canary "perfect, that means I have the entire cast."

"I hate to be rude to a lady," Sanji sighed as he lit a cigarette "but I feel the need to ask you to stop being so cryptic and explain yourself completely."

The hunter paused, pursing her lips as she pondered his request before giving a careless shrug "Alright, I can tell you. I hold a very special devil fruit power to switch the personality traits of two people, and it can be any two traits that I wish."

"Oh no…" Usopp moaned with fear and dread as the woman raised her hands and his vision began to turn white "I knew something bad was going to happen…"

….

"Navigator-san," Robin turned to Nami, her face a mask of worry "I do believe we should go find the others."

"Huh, why?" The ginger headed woman looked up from her book, one hand casually pushing her long hair behind her ear.

"I don't usually try to keep an eye on our captain when we go into town together, but I had a strange feeling today and so I decided to keep an ear out for trouble. It sounds like they may have gotten involved with a Bounty Hunter."

Nami's eyes widened and she immediately turned towards the ship "Let's go get Chopper, he can sniff them out!"

"Right,"

….

"They came this way!"

The girls ran behind Chopper, their breaths short and fast as they ran through the city, down alleyways, and eventually into the trees behind the city. They raced through the trees, until the reindeer came to a screeching halt within a small grove, and within lay three of their crew on the ground unconscious.

"Zoro!" Chopper yelped as he ran to the swordsman's side.

"What could have done this?" Nami wondered as she rushed to Sanji's side and gently shook him "Sanji, can you hear me? Please, say something!"

"N-Nami…San?" Sanji murmured before sitting up with a blank look on his face "What happened?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Robin asked sitting on the other side of the blond.

"Hmm?" Sanji folded his arms and rocked from side to side muttering to himself "Remember…Remember…?" Suddenly he straightened up and gave a wide cheeky grin to Nami "Oh yeah, there was a mystery woman, and she knocked us out with her creepy powers!"

"Uh…" Nami paused "Sanji…did you just…insult a lady?"

"Yeah, so?" the blond asked with a blank face before scrambling to his feet "Anyways, she took Luffy, and we have to rescue him in order to have an AMAZING adventure…oh but first, I'm hungry!"

The girls blinked in confusion at Sanji's behavior then Nami turned to Robin "Please tell me you have a hypothesis for this?"

Robin nodded "I believe I heard the bounty hunter say something about switching personalities."

"Oh man," Nami slapped her forehead with her palm "judging by his behavior, I can bet Sanji was switched with Luffy, which means…"

Suddenly a soft groan cut through the air, and the two females whipped their heads around to look at Zoro as he slowly began to sit up, one meaty hand rubbing his good eye.

"Zoro," Nami quavered nervously "how are you feeling?"

Zoro looked up, giving her a blank look, and then suddenly his eyes widened and he let out a shrill scream "AHHHH! I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED! I COULD HAVE DIED!"

Nami's jaw fell open, and Robin's eyes went wide as they betrayed their shock "…uh…"

"Oh no…" Zoro looked around, his face a mask of terrified panic "what if they're still here? What if they're hiding in the trees?!"

"Nah, chill Zoro," Sanji grinned as he bounced over to the green haired man and sat down with his legs crossed "I remember what happened. It was a freaky lady, and she said she had devil fruit powers, and she also wanted Luffy for his bounty!"

"WHAT?!" Zoro shrieked "Luffy's GONE?!"

"If Luffy's gone, then we have no choice but to rescue him."

The group turned around to look at who spoke and found that Usopp was not only awake, but he was also standing behind them, his arms crossed, and with a serious look on his face "We should leave now so we don't lose any time."

"W-Wait…" the swordsman stammered "you're saying that we're going _deeper _into the scary forest, chasing a creepy chick, with freaky powers?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Usopp growled while he glared at the swordsman "now man up, and follow me!"

Zoro and Nami turned to look at each other before the green haired man fell over, and began to fake a choking fit "Oh no," Zoro gasped writhing on the grass "it's my I-can't-go-into-dark-forests-chasing-creepy-chicks disease! I'm…I'm not g-gonna…make it!"

Nami fell forward, her head buried in Robin's shoulder "This is insane," she moaned almost as if she were in pain "this cannot…_should not_…be happening!"

Robin patted her shoulder, chuckling softly "I apologize navigator-san, but I must say I agree with sniper-san, we must pursue the bounty hunter at all costs."

Nami sighed "You're right, let's do this."

"YEAH!" Sanji cried dancing and fist pumping the air ecstatically "Let's go find an adventure!"

"I can smell Luffy's trail," Chopper reported.

"Let's go teach that hunter never to mess with the Straw Hats, or our captain," Usopp growled cracking his knuckles.

"N-N-No, I-I can't go!" Zoro moaned pitifully as he scrambled across the grass and hid behind Nami "We don't know what's in the forest!"

"Sure we do," Sanji grinned as he began to follow Usopp down the trail behind Chopper "Monsters, and snakes, and bugs the size of your head! Doesn't it sound exciting?!"

"NO!" Zoro shrieked making an X sign with his arms as his official veto of their plan "It does NOT sound like fun!"

"Fine then," Nami sighed as she and Robin joined the others "stay here."

Zoro sat on the grass, watching everyone leave, then scrambled to his feet "W-Wait for me!" he cried "Don't leave me here alo-o-one!"

…

Sahara sighed, sure she was happy that she had gotten the bounty she was after, but did she really have to endure this?

The bounty hunter had made it back to her ship, and in that space of time she discovered that the personality trait she had extracted from the blond one was at the very least, troublesome. However, putting it inside the body of a boy who had no idea how to control, much less identify said emotion, was bordering on the point of ridiculous.

"You're more beautiful than a hundred steaks," Luffy sighed dreamily from his spot on the floor "I could sit here and look at you forever."

Sahara sneered at the boy "Will you please back off, and stop drooling all over the arm of my chair?"

"Anything for you my angel," the boy grinned as he began to noodle and dance around "I would give my very life for you, just for one kiss from your luscious lips!"

The hunter smacked herself on the forehead with her palm, an aggravated vein throbbing in her temple "This is just idiotic," she hissed.

"I'm sorry my princess," Luffy cried his face a mask of horror "if you find my presence disgusting, just order me away and I'll never bother you again. I can't the thought of being the one responsible for causing you pain!"

"AAUUGH!" The woman snarled "Just…Just…LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I FOUND HIM!"

Sahara looked up, only to see a reindeer pop through the door of her ship followed by a group of people.

"You!" A young man with a long nose roared "Prepare yourself, because gut wrenching pain will be sweet compared to what we have planned for you!"

"Is he here?" A blond asked bouncing in and proceeding to check a treasure chest "Or here?" he tore apart a book shelf "Or here?" the couch was now missing it's cushions "Oh wait," finally the blond skidded to a stop in front of Luffy "I found him!"

A green haired swordsman crept inside, his eyes bugging out as a blood curdling shriek burst from his lips, and he proceeded to run around the room screaming in fright "It's HER! The creepy lady with the freaky powers! We're all gonna DIE!"

Luffy rose up against Zoro, one rubbery hand clenched in a fist as he glared daggers at the still screaming man, and caught the swordsman by the collar as he ran past "Don't talk that way about the beautiful Sahara-Swan!"

"WAAAH!" Nami moaned, hiding her face in Robin's shoulder yet again "This is too WEIRD!"

Robin chuckled at Nami, then turned serious eyes at the hunter "We've come for our captain."

"Yeah!" Chopper growled "So hand him over!"

Sahara felt like she was ready to burst into tears of relief "Gladly!" she cried as she grabbed the Straw Hat by the collar and threw him at the girls "Take him and leave! His bounty isn't worth all this trouble, I'm leaving, and giving up bounty hunting for good!"

"Wait!" Nami cried one desperate hand reaching for the woman "put our nakama back to normal!"

"If it gets you out of my hair, FINE!"

Suddenly Sahara brought her hands together in a resounding clap, and all four affected men fell unconscious "Now," the hunter panted as she dragged the sleeping men and threw them out the door then pointing out of it "GET OFF MY SHIP!"

Less than five seconds later, the crew was back on the shore, and Nami was blinking in confusion "Wha-What just…happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Robin replied slowly, her face equally puzzled "but somehow I think we're better off not knowing."

"Ugh,"

Nami and Robin whirled around to see Zoro and Sanji slowly coming to, "Zoro, Sanji-Kun!" Nami cried before her face became clouded with suspicion "How…do you feel?"

"Weird," Zoro grumbled "I had the strangest dream that we were attacked by some creepy chick with Devil Fruit powers."

"Yeah," Nami chuckled humorlessly "that actually happened."

"WHAT?!"

"She switched your personalities, and made you act like a coward, and Sanji act like Captain-san," Robin stated.

"I…" Sanji asked slowly, his features horrified "I acted like..Luffy?"

"Ew…" Zoro made a face "I was a coward?"

Suddenly the green haired man whirled on Sanji, "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for your perverted nature to trust anything that's female!"

"YOU WANNA FIGHT IDIOT MOSS HEAD?!"

"Ah," Nami sighed happily "everything's finally back to normal."

**So like I said, I will be taking requests, suggestions, and prompts, but you have to put them in your review for me to see them. **

**I have a game where every ten reviews, the tenth reviewer gets to make a request and I will write it for them.**

**Wanna play?**

**REVIEW!**


	3. Nightmare

**Hi, I'm back again!**

**I'm an Angst type of person, so you may see a lot of that, and hurt/comfort in my chapters…I'm that kind of person.**

**Warning: The nightmare is a tad gruesome…Sorry.**

**Please put all writing suggestions and prompts in your review.**

_Zoro could see them, the unconscious bodies of his crewmates lying around him on the ground._

_The field was cold, and his hands shook as he realized that his swords were missing, making him feel all the more vulnerable. Crawling across the stony ground, the rock cut into his knees, making the tender flesh bleed, and the swordsman sought out his captain._

"_Luffy," the man gasped._

"_You can save him," a voice rumbled "if you take on his pain."_

_Flashes of memory, of pain, of a screaming voice echoing in the dark, serving as an anchor to the realm of the living as the agony tore the voice into broken sobs "I will do anything to save the lives of my nakama!"_

_Then…the memory turned to Nightmare._

_Instead of saving his captain, Zoro opens his eyes to see the great hulking mass standing over each of his Nakama, stealing their lives even as they slept "No…" the swordsman moaned in pain as he struggled to go defend them with his dying breath "Please…stay away…don't hurt them…my family…PLEASE?!"_

_His breath came in short labored gasp, a grunt of pain as his body gave out on his and his knees failed to keep him standing, leaving him strung out on the bloody grass. Desperate hands scrabbled in the gravel, his fingertips split and bleeding as he drug himself with trembling arms across the ground. "No…please, stop!"_

_But it was too late, and as soon as he reached the area where his crewmates lay, he saw them all dead, still and un-breathing, and a high pitched animalistic keen of heart wrenching agony wailed from his throat as the confirmation of his worst fears, his ultimate failure as a first mate and nakama was presented before his eyes in horrifying Technicolor._

"_It's all your fault," a voice whispered in the dark, making Zoro look up from where he lay._

_There standing in the middle of the bodies was Kuina, her eyes were narrow and accusing as she glared at the helpless battered man bleeding on the grass "You know it is…It's all your fault that I had to get a whetstone to sharpen the sword we used when dueling, and so my death was YOUR FAULT. And now look at all your friends, the people you claim to be your family, but did you protect THEM? No…you didn't…you couldn't…and it's all YOUR FAULT."_

"…_My fault…" Zoro repeatedly absently his eyes becoming blank and emotionless "…All my fault…"_

…

Sanji came awake with a snort, almost clonking heads with Usopp, and groaned at the sudden awakening "What's wrong?" Sanji muttered unhappily.

"Something's wrong," Usopp whispered nervously "I mean, I think something is _really_ wrong with Zoro."

"Huh?" The blond sat up, stretching his arms high over his head and then rearranged his pajama shirt so that it wasn't all twisted from sleep and then stood up so to examine their swordsman.

What he found was unpleasant at the very best.

The stoic man lay in his bed, shivering and whimpering, his face a mask of terror as he mumbled incoherent words into his pillow. Sweat beaded his face, and down his neck, while the muscles in his neck bulged from his tense jaw and shoulders. His hands clenched and unclenched, and with a strangled mewling cry, the moss headed man curled up into the fetal position, one hand reaching up to grip his hair while he buried his face in the crook of his arm.

"Look at him, Sanji," Usopp whispered harshly shaking the cook's shoulder "he looks horrible, but I don't wanna wake him up because he might freak out."

Sanji nodded in understanding, knowing that to wake someone in the middle of a nightmare could have dangerous repercussions on all involved, but what were they supposed to do?

"…No…" the swordsman whispered in agony his body twitching in the midst of his dream "Please…stay away…don't hurt them…my family…please…"

Usopp and Sanji froze, both of them swallowing a hard lump of emotion that was balling up in their throats. The sniper turned to the taller man, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears over the pain they were watching Zoro endure.

"Being first mate," Usopp whispered in a voice thick with emotion "it's…hard, isn't it? Harder than any of us know?"

"Yeah," Sanji replied with equal struggle "yeah it is."

Suddenly the swordsman somehow managed to curl up in a tighter ball, and his chest heaved as he began to hyperventilate, a muffled scream barely above a whisper slipping past trembling lips "No…Dead…Luffy…everyone…no…no…NOOO!"

However the scariest part was when the swordsman's eyes suddenly popped open, and the two men gasped when they saw not the usual gaze they were used to, but two eyes that would surely haunt their nightmares.

The scarred left eye was a clouded white, unseeing and dead, it stared at them.

The right eye was worse because its state was not due to a physical injury, but rather, an emotional one. It was devoid of any feeling, blank and dead, it stared into the abyss. Usopp shuddered though, because there was one emotion that literally drowned in that unconscious gaze, it was pure defeated despair. Like the owner of that eye no longer wished to live, and had given up everything. Gone was the spark of the dream to become the greatest, the eye was vacant, like all the life had been sucked out.

Usopp dove behind Sanji, both of their eyes were wide, neither ever having seen Zoro in such a horrifying state, and as the green haired man began to weep, they heard a mantra "…My fault…my fault…"

"We need to stop this," Sanji whispered absently.

"N-No kidding," Usopp spluttered with a vehement nod "because I don't know how much more of this I can take!"

"…Give him his white sword…" a sleepy voice slurred from the next hammock over.

Turning around, the boys noticed Luffy casually slung over the side of his hammock, one rubbery hand rubbing a tired eye, regarding them with a half conscious gaze "That's what I do when he wakes me up from a nightmare, it always calms him down."

'_How many nightmares does the moss head have?'_ Sanji wondered before shaking his head and diving for the white sword that was never far from her master's side.

With frantic movements, he tossed the heavy sword to Usopp, who then reached up and placed it in the hammock with Zoro. The green haired man immediately reacted to it, curling bony hands around its scabbard, and pulling it close. Cuddling it, almost like a child would for a stuffed animal, the man finally calmed and closing his eyes, sank back into sleep. Sanji and Usopp practically collapsed from relief, and Luffy gave a cheeky grin of satisfaction.

"See?" he yawned happily before turning over and drifting back to sleep "I…told…ya…"

"Thank God that's over with," Usopp muttered with a dramatic sigh.

Sanji hummed in response and shoved Usopp back towards his own bed "Go on, we still have a few hours before dawn."

"Right," the sniper agreed head already nodding with fatigue "G'night."

"Night,"

…..

Zoro woke the next day, somehow once again inexplicably clutching Wado in his hands. With an aggravated growl, the man rolled out of his hammock, and onto the floor, his one good eye looking around the empty men's quarters with sleepy disinterest.

Suddenly though his dream from the night before hit him like the sea train, and Zoro found himself kneeling on the cold planks of the floor, shivering as a mild panic attack passed over him.

He never told anyone, but he was pretty sure he was dealing with Post Trauma Stress Disorder from his ordeal with Kuma, and then to make matters worse, their defeat on the archipelago that led to their separation for two years made it even worse. True he was stronger now, but a true warrior knew his weaknesses, and Zoro knew that this was something he wouldn't get over any time soon, and only time spent with his crew where he could regularly see their faces and check on their health, would bring that.

With that thought, Zoro sprang to his feet, his only thought being his crew and their safety. Rushing out the door, and onto the large deck, he almost collided with the blond cook, his carefully honed reflexes being the only thing that kept him from doing so.

"Oi, Zoro," Sanji snarled trying to hide the concern he felt "slow down ya idiot, or I might just throw away the breakfast I wrapped in the fridge for you."

"Wh-Where," Zoro swallowed the thick numb feeling in his throat and cast a fearful desperate eye on Sanji "Where's Luffy?"

The blond immediately sobered, and dropped his sham of anger towards the swordsman "He's safe," he replied simply.

"A-And everyone e-else?" Zoro felt his body going into shock, and couldn't stop the shivering afflicting his frame, but he couldn't spare a moment to feel shame over his current state, so intent was he on checking on the crew.

"They're safe too," Sanji nodded before jerking his head towards the door down the hall "why don't you take a nap on deck, it's a really pretty day, it'd be a shame to miss it."

Zoro nodded, a powerful wish to sit on the deck surrounded by his crew driving his feet forward in a desperate stumbling gait "Y-Yeah, th-that sounds, g-g-good."

Sanji watched the man shuffle down the hall until he disappeared out the door, and finally allowed a melancholy sigh to slip past his lips "You're a lot of trouble, ya know that idiot?"

…

Once on the deck, Zoro leaned back against a railing and sighed.

Sanji was right, the day was beautiful, and from here, Zoro could see every single one of his crewmates with relative ease. As the sounds of the crews cacophony rang around him, Zoro finally was able to fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

**What do you think?**

**Please be sure to review, and if you have any requests, put them in the review. Thanks!**


	4. Appendicitis

**Hi, I know, I'm so mean because as you can see by the title, this is going to be a painful chapter for poor Zoro.**

**I love hurt/comfort genre, and personally I think we don't see enough of that for our favorite future World's Greatest Swordsman, don't you think?**

**Well, here goes, hope ya'll enjoy this angst ridden piece of (hopefully) goodness.**

Zoro sat up from where he had been puking his guts out into the toilet bowl, his hands trembled from where they gripped the polished porcelain, and a wince flashed across his face as his right side gave another sharp pang. This had begun a little over a week ago, a dull throb behind his navel accompanied by horrible bouts of nausea and dizzy spells wreaking havoc on the swordsman. Now the pain had moved from his navel down to his right side, and the nausea had developed into full on vomit fests in the bathroom.

Zoro rubbed his tired eyes before wiping his palm across a sweaty overheated brow. He knew that he had a fever, just as well that he knew that these symptoms were only going to grow worse if he kept going without medical attention. However, getting that was proving difficult.

He wasn't an idiot, he knew when to go to a doctor, and he knew that there were things that were impossible to 'tough his way out' of, but for some reason every time he attempted going to Chopper, something would occur that distracted them or made it impossible to relay his problem to the small reindeer. Thus here he was, wringing his stomach out for all it was worth, hoping that he could make it through the day and actually get in a solid conversation with Chopper without any interruptions.

Suddenly the bathroom door in the men's quarters opened, revealing the heads of his crewmates peeking in, mainly Usopp and Franky "Hey," the sniper whined petulantly clutching his toothbrush to his chest "are you almost done, or what?"

"Yeah Zoro-bro," Franky huffed "I'm normally a patient guy, but hogging the bathroom is un-super."

"Sor-" the moss headed man suddenly felt his abdomen convulse and he jerked his face back over the toilet to dry heave with a horrible gagging sound that made both men wince.

"Whoa, dude," Franky said softly taking his large metal hand and rubbing some of the tenseness out of Zoro's trembling shoulders "you ok, bro?"

Zoro spat some bile out of his mouth, and labored for air, even as his hand clutched his right side "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

"It's probably just a bad hangover," a familiar voice sneered past the doorway within the room.

"Stupid ero-cook," the swordsman snarled, but without any real heat as he leaned against the wall of the bathroom.

"I don't know," Usopp muttered, chewing his bottom lip pensively "Zoro doesn't usually get hangovers."

"I'm fine," Zoro said firmly with a glare to show the evidence that he really was.

"Maybe you should still go see Chopper though," the sniper offered gently.

"Fine," Zoro grunted _'Like I haven't been trying all week!'_

Suddenly the alarm bell rung and the navigator's voice screamed over the intercom "MARINES ARE ATTACKING ON THE STARBOARD BOW!"

"Aw man," the swordsman hissed as he hauled himself to his feet and stumbled out the door.

"Oi, Zoro-bro," Franky yelped as the green haired man pushed past him "are ya sure you should be fighting?"

"I'll be fine," the man sighed in reply as he strapped his swords to his side and ran out the door.

Brook walked up behind them, his skeletal face blank as he considered the swordsman _'I have a very bad feeling about this'._

….

The battle raged, and Zoro stumbled his way through it, pain fogging his every thought.

He didn't know how many marines he had defeated, didn't really care all that much for that matter, but he could tell that were losing. He knew that it was largely in part to the fact that he wasn't carrying his usual load, and the others were being forced to fight more than they were used to, but he was unable to do more.

Eight marines converged on Zoro, swinging their swords in a haphazard style that on any other day when he wasn't feeling so ill the man would have gladly insulted the marines for their shoddy training, and proceeded to bring them all down upon the swordsman hoping that he could be defeated through the force of numbers.

Zoro brought his three swords up to block all eight blades _'Dude, who brought a ninth?!'_ but he felt his right side give a painful stab which resulted in his right knee weakening, and giving out, leaving him on one knee in the dirt, straining to keep the blades aloft and out of his neck and back. Suddenly though a familiar black leather shoe flew through the space above him, kicking the marines away from him so hard and fast, that the swordsman heard the air whistle.

The marines were flung like ragdolls away from Zoro, and the man allowed his arms to fall to his sides with a sigh of relief, his shoulders going up and down as he fought for air "Th-Thanks…ero-cook."

Sanji opened his mouth to give Zoro a scathing retort, but quickly bit it back when he noticed the man stumble as he drug himself back to his feet, and rushed forward to grab the man's arm, and keep him upright. Sanji felt his jaw drop when he felt the heat radiating off the swordsman's skin, much hotter than it would be just from mere exertion, and he looked up to see Zoro's face covered in sweat, and his emerald eyes were glazed and unfocused.

"O-Oi," the cook drawled giving his nakama's arm a firm shake "you ok, man?"

"Huh?" the swordsman snapped out of his exhausted daze long enough to regard the blond man "Yeah, I'm just…tired."

"Zoro," Sanji said, his eyes narrowing as he used the man's name to show him just how serious he was "you have a fever."

"I'll see Chopper when we're done," he murmured casting his dull gaze away from Sanji and back towards the battlefield "until then, I have to deal with it."

Sanji sighed, but nodded knowing the statement was true "Fine," he said while lighting a cigarette "since you're currently useless, I guess I'll just have to pick up your slack and get this over with sooner rather than later."

Zoro smirked, knowing very well that his cruel statement actually translated as _'I'll cover for you and try to get you to Chopper as soon as we can.'_

"Do whatever you want princess,"

…..

Chopper looked over to see Sanji and Zoro fighting marines back to back, and he smiled at the sight of the rivals working together, but suddenly his discerning medical eye caused him to take a second look.

To anyone who knew nothing about the pair, they would assume that they were incredibly strong, and leave it at that, but Chopper could see what others could not. He could see the way Zoro was fighting, his arms moving slowly as if his swords weighed more than he could bear, which was impossible considering the weights he usually threw around every day on the ship while they were sailing. He also noticed that every time Zoro was too sluggish to stop an attack, Sanji would step in and back up the swordsman, keeping him safe. That too, was odd.

Chopper felt an uncomfortable churning in his gut, Zoro was moving far too slowly, and he was favoring his right side, not to mention he was sweating far too much. Something was wrong.

….

Zoro sighed as he watched Chopper rush to fight by his and Sanji's side, his childish yet incredibly wise gaze keeping tabs on the two, and then groaned when his side gave another twinge, and his abdomen began to convulse in what he knew to be the first sign of another bout of vomiting. His knees turned to jelly, and he found himself falling to the deck, puking bile onto the wooden planks, and much to Sanji and Chopper's dismay, blood.

Sanji leapt high into the air, warding off another attack, before landing next to the man, and standing between him and any other marines "Chopper," the blond yelled "take care of Zoro, I'll cover you!"

"Right!" the reindeer replied.

However none were able to keep their promises when a loud explosion rocked the ship, and the cook looked up in time to see that the marines had used all of their cannons to force the Thousand Sunny several hundred feet away from their ship, and spinning in the water. What happened next was almost too fast for any of them to comprehend. Chopper, completely absorbed by the swordsman who was still vomiting blood, never saw the large wave that was kicked up from the explosion, resulting in both he and his patient being washed overboard.

"Chopper, Zoro!" Sanji screamed as he raced to the side of the ship and dove into the waves.

The blond swam for all he was worth, his eyes stinging from the ocean water, but he kept his eyes on the figures of his two nakama as they sunk further and further. Zoro struggled in the water, one arm wrapped around Chopper, but a harsh grimace twisted his features and he immediately curled up into a ball, his muscular arm wrapping around his stomach. A torrent of bubbles left the swordsman's mouth as the water muffled what was surely a roar of pain. Sanji felt his heart clench in fear when suddenly the moss headed man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and became deathly still.

Sanji strove forward, his arms cutting through the water, cursing himself for not trying to spend more time on working his upper body strength. After what felt like an eternity, the man caught his nakama, and swam up to surface. Breaking the water, Sanji groaned in pain as he struggled to keep his comrade's heads above the water, and cast about looking for their ship.

However the Thousand Sunny was not in view, neither was the marine ship, both had disappeared on the horizon in the time it took to save Zoro and Chopper from drowning.

"No," Sanji hissed as he stared out to sea "this is bad."

"Sanji," a quiet whisper floated up from his arms.

The blond looked down and saw the reindeer looking up at him through tired glazed eyes "Chopper," Sanji smiled relieved.

"We need to…find an island," the small animal gasped "Zoro…is sick…he needs a…doctor."

"Right," the cook nodded, and began to scan for just such an island.

A weight lifted off his shoulders as he caught sight of mountains in the distance, and quickly began treading water on his back, holding his nakama against his chest. Hopefully they would make it in time to find out what was wrong with Zoro, and get him proper help.

**I'm going to cut it off here.**

**The next part to this is next, and I hope you enjoy it.**

**Once again, any thoughts or ideas, post them in the reviews!**


	5. Appendicitis2

**I'm BAAACK!**

**Ok, so last we saw Zoro, Sanji was swimming him and Chopper to a nearby island, so let's get back to the story!**

The blond dragged his load up the beach, his teeth gritted in a tight grimace as his arms trembled with fatigue from carrying them so far "Stupid marimo," Sanji grunted getting angry more to give himself one last spurt of energy rather than to cast the blame on his comrade.

"Just have to be so stinking heavy," the blond muttered looking back over his shoulder at the shore, focusing on not twisting his ankle in the shifting sand "you and your stupid, annoying, _heavy_ muscles, because you're obsessed with lifting stupid, annoying, **heavy** weights!"

Chopper shifted on his shoulder where Sanji was clutching him and a small groan escaped his little mouth "San-ji," he murmured, his fatigue slowly starting to dissipate the farther they got from the water "we need to get…somewhere dry,"

"Right, dry," Sanji nodded "one dry spot coming right up."

The little reindeer smiled, his strength coming back as the sun beat down on his back, drying his fur and replenishing his strength "Good," he nodded a little more energetically "once you find a good spot I need to look at Zoro."

Sanji grimaced, chewing his bottom lip in worry as he remembered the sheer agony that was on Zoro's face when he fainted in the water "I have a bad feeling about this Chopper,"

"Yeah," the animal sighed "me too,"

…

Sanji drug the duo up on the sand close to the jungle fringes, before running up to the trees to start making a bed of palm leaves. Chopper lent a hand, helping build a shelter before they turned to carry the still unconscious swordsman inside. Chopper felt his brow furrow at the way the man was shaking, as icy chills ran up and down his spine, but in a stark contradiction to the amount of sweat that was beading his brow that was deeply furrowed in pain.

Chopper tapped his fuzzy lips, his eyes narrow with concentration "I know he's vomiting blood, he has an intense fever, and chills, but…that could be any number of things. I feel like I'm missing something!"

"Sanji," the reindeer cried turning to the blond "can you think of anything else, anything at all? What other symptoms has Zoro shown?"

Sanji pursed his lips thoughtfully before a memory sparked his brain "Wait," he cried "when you were in the water, I saw Zoro clutch his stomach and scream, and he was favoring his right side all during the fight."

"Of course," Chopper gasped his eyes wide "his right side, I remembering seeing that during the fight."

Bending over the shivering swordsman, Chopper lifted Zoro's blue tank top and gave his right side a tentative poke.

Zoro shot up from where he laid, a howl of pain exploding from his lips both hands scrabbling to clutch his side "Oh, maaaan," he moaned as his words slurred while his chest heaved up and down as he labored to breathe "thawt hursh like crashzy,"

"Incoherent words, and a high fever," Chopper sighed as the green haired man lay back down with a small whimper "plus the fact he's admitting that he's feeling pain…"

"Means he's definitely delirious," the two finished in perfect synchronization.

"Plus," the reindeer looked up at Sanji, worry evident in his eyes "I think I know what's wrong with him."

"What is it?" the cook felt his stomach sink with dread when the animal didn't reply right away "Chopper," he persisted in a stern voice "what's wrong with Zoro."

"I think he has appendicitis," Chopper replied quietly "and what's worse is that I think it burst."

Sanji reeled back in shock, his heart clenched in fear "But…that…could kill him, right?"

"Not right away," Chopper whispered "but if I don't try to perform the surgery he needs, he could die within the next twenty-four hours."

"S-Surgery?" Sanji stammered "Here…NOW?!"

"Do I have any other choice?!" Chopper bellowed in the cook's face "He could die if I don't, so I have to take a chance now!"

"Uh…R-Right," Sanji cast about looking around and true realization for how grim their situation actually was hit him square in the head "What do I need to do?"

"Light a fire," Chopper instructed "there isn't any way to boil water, so we'll have to sanitize the surgical instruments with fire."

The blond went a few shades of green, before scurrying to start a fire.

Chopper shrugged off his back pack, and began to unload each item he would need for the surgery. A soft bag made of leather held his surgical knives, and needles came out, followed by a spool of thread used for stitching up injuries. Next out of the bag came a clear plastic tube that was connected to a gizmo powered by a pressurized pedal that looked similar to the tool used to help blow air on embers to stoke a fire. After that was an assortment of cotton balls, towels, and sanitized napkins.

"Ok, Chopper," Sanji murmured turning worried baby blue eyes to their ship doctor "the fire is ready to go."

"Ok," the reindeer nodded "I need you to start running the scalpel back and forth over the flame, not enough to burn the metal, but make sure that it is hot enough that would kill any germs on it."

Sanji nodded, gripping the small scalpel and running it through the flame, while Chopper took a small marker, and inked onto Zoro's abdomen where he was going to cut. Sanji turned back to the duo, and gave a heavy gulp of fear "So…what's first?"

"I'm going to make the cut," the animal said quietly but with confident authority in his knowledge of medicine "I need you to stand by and mop up excess blood; also you will be helping me clean up the infection, if his appendix really has ruptured then there is going to be a lot of fluid and even pus that I want you to clean out as I remove the appendix itself."

"You want me to reach inside…his guts?" Sanji gagged feeling bile rise to the back of his throat "Cho-Chopper, I don't think I can do this," he gasped in a panicked voice "I mean this is different from preparing animals to be cooked, this is Zoro. I don't think I can handle it!"

"Sanji, I need you to calm down," Chopper spat his eyes hard and serious "if it were any other situation, and we had the luxury to do so, I would gladly excuse you from helping me perform the surgery, but the simple fact is that we DON'T! So man up, and help me save our nakama's life."

Sanji felt his jaw snap shut, never before having heard Chopper be so forceful "Right," he replied in almost a dead whisper.

"Ok," Chopper nodded switching to heavy point and gripping the scalpel "go on his other side, and put this napkin over his face. Give a steady drip of anesthesia into the cloth every couple minutes. I'm sure neither of us would want him waking up in the middle of this."

The blond nodded vigorously doing as he was told, then grabbed the cotton swabs and towels "Ready when you are Doctor,"

Chopper nodded, and then lowered the knife "Making the first incision into his lower abdomen."

Sanji bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed as he watched the small knife slice through the swordsman with terrifying ease. Was Zoro always this easy to cut? The cook didn't know. Sure they had seen him battered and bleeding often enough, the man was practically a magnet for injuries, but never before had Sanji seen Zoro actually get cut before, save that one time back on the Baratie when he was defeated by Mihawk; and even then he was cut by the current World's Greatest Swordsman, so it still never really registered that Zoro could be cut by just anyone. But here he was, watching the smallest member of their crew slice into the green haired man's skin and muscle as easy as a chef would through sashimi.

Chopper removed his hat, and wiped sweat of his brow "Preparing the next incision into the abdominal wall," he murmured to himself as he used clamps to spread the skin so he could see the muscle beneath better.

Sanji added a drop of anesthesia to the napkin covering the man's face, grateful for even just that one moment's worth of distraction away from watching his friend get filleted.

"Sanji," Chopper's voice startled the cook making him jump "I need you mopping up the blood."

"Ri-Right," Sanji gulped back what he knew was vomit, and forced himself to look at the incision so he could clean up the blood and help the Doctor keep the cut as clean as possible.

The reindeer let out a sigh when he finally finished piercing the abdominal wall and set the clamps so that he could peer inside. His relief was short lived however, because the animal immediately let out a horrified gasp, leaving him frozen in shock.

"No," Chopper murmured his eyes welling with tears "it can't be."

"What," Sanji whispered his already horrified eyes widening further with fear "what's wrong?"

"It's an Appendiceal abscess," Chopper sniffed "it's basically a hole in the wall of his muscles filled with pus caused by the infection from the rupture, and the fact it exists increases Zoro's chances of dying by 24%."

"Even with the surgery?"

"Yes," the reindeer nodded "I can do treatment on him, but unless we are rescued soon and I have access to my supplies on the ship, the chances of him surviving are…shrinking."

The blond felt his world reel in shock as Chopper's words registered "Zoro," Sanji gasped feeling like his head was spinning off his shoulders "Zoro could die?"

**OOOH! Another evil cliffhanger! **

**What do ya'll think? LET ME KNOW!**


	6. Appendicitis3

**Hi everybody! I'm BAAA-ACK!**

**I'm starting a GAME!**

**PippaFrost, you know this game.**

**Since this is relatively a small time fic, I will do it where every ten reviews, the tenth reviewer gets to make a request and I will write whatever they ask for.**

**As the reviews start to multiply, I may have to change the rules, but for now it is every tenth reviewer.**

**Disclaimer: As always, I do not own the characters, anime, or manga…If I did I wouldn't be scraping by just trying to raise money for my impending Missionary trip.**

Sanji looked back down at Zoro, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gave a harsh gulp "Wh-What do we…do?" he asked tremulously.

"First I need to analyze the size and severity of the Appendiceal abscess," Chopper said in a clipped professional tone, which was a stark contradiction to his usual childish nature "then I can begin to decide just how to treat him."

"Ok," Sanji nodded "excuse me,"

The blond immediately shuffled away in a desperate scramble towards the edge of the jungle, and promptly emptied his stomach into the bushes. This continued for a little over five minutes, before the cook was finally able to regain control. Leaning back on his heels, Sanji sighed, rubbing his mouth with the edge of his sleeve cleaning off the sick.

Everything felt so messed up. Granted, Sanji had experienced some pretty strange new things concerning Zoro; first with the letter, then that nightmare, and now this. Zoro was sick, and possibly dying? It all felt so wrong. Their unmovable rock should never get sick, should never be weak, but it turned out that these past few months have been unfortunate ones for their resident swordsman. Heaving another sigh, the young man shuffled back to their shack turned surgical room.

"So," the blond rasped his voice still rough from puking "how's he doing?"

The small reindeer sat up, one hoof drawing back from dripping some more liquid anesthesia on the rag that was currently keeping the moss headed man deep under in a medicated sleep "the Appendiceal abscess is pretty big, I can't even remove his appendix without inserting a tube into his abdominal wall to assist in draining the excess fluid, and keeping him under a strict antibiotic regimen for four to six weeks until I'm able to complete the surgery."

"Sounds," Sanji paused, his teeth nibbling on his bottom lip "…Complicated…"

"It is," Chopper nodded "but the good news is, I have seen Doctorina do this procedure hundreds of times, and I haven't seen a single person die once."

Sanji smiled, a sudden whoosh of relief rushing from his lungs "Really?"

Chopper returned the smile to the blond, planting a comforting hoof on Sanji's knee "Yeah, don't worry Sanji, we're gonna get through this."

"Good," the blond nodded feeling a large weight lift off his shoulders "so, what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to get to work making a signal fire," Chopper replied "the most important thing now is to insert the drainage tube, and try to make sure that the others can find us when they circle back."

Sanji nodded "It makes sense," he replied softly "they probably followed the Marine ship to save us, but will soon realize that we aren't on it, so we need to make sure to find a way to show them where we _are_."

"Precisely," The little reindeer nodded "it won't be a good idea to move Zoro at all, so for now I'm going to insert the tube, and stitch him up."

"Right," Sanji stood up and patted himself off only to be pushed out of the tent.

"You idiot!" Chopper shrieked shifting to heavy point and punching him hard enough to send him flying several feet down the beach "You can't do that in the surgical room, it's hard enough trying to keep everything sanitary without you making impossible!"

The blond slowly sat up from the deep rut of sand he had created during his crash landing, one bony hand swatting his hair to rid it of sand "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he muttered more angry at his own carelessness than Chopper's reaction "I'm sorry, ok?!"

"You should be, especially if Zoro gets an infection!"

Sanji winced at that, the now familiar feeling of bile rising up in his throat, before falling backwards into the hole "Right, of course," he sighed.

…

Chopper wiped his brow, sweat glistening on his fur, and he cast worried eyes over to Zoro. He had placed the tube within the swordsman's abdominal wall and stitched him back up around the tube. The fluid from the abscess was dripping from the other end and the reindeer was relieved that it appeared it was draining well, however he was still concerned over the man's health.

Even before he had began with putting the tube inside of Zoro to drain the abscess, Chopper noticed infection setting in due to the horrid environment that they were trying to complete the surgery, and he knew it would only get worse as time passed.

Glancing up, the reindeer shifted to heavy point and felt the moss headed man's forehead, his frown furrowing ever deeper at the heat the was radiating from his skin "This isn't good," he murmured softly, shifting back to his original form "not good at all."

Standing up, the small animal decided to check on Sanji's progress, and walked out of the shack. A rose and purple colored evening sky greeted him, while specks of twilight began to wink into existence. Sanji stood by a roaring fire, a lit cigarette hung from his lips sending tendrils of smoke into the air, and his blue eyes stared into the flames looking much like chipped pieces of ice, so deep was the concern and worry lodged within their depths.

"Sanji," Chopper began, his voice muted by his own unease "any sign of the Sunny?"

"None," Sanji rasped in reply, a long stream of smoke billowing from between his lips "how's moss head?"

Chopper hung his head, his hooves clopping together hesitantly as he considered how to tell Sanji before jumping in headfirst "His fever is rising to dangerous levels, and infection has already set in. Time is of the essence, and if the _Thousand Sunny_ doesn't come soon, I can't guarantee that Zoro will…"

The reindeer's voice trailed off, and Sanji felt his stomach sink at the words left unsaid, but understood all the same. Zoro could die, and that was the simple truth of it.

"The _Thousand Sunny_ will come," Sanji nodded firmly "our nakama always come in time, and they won't be late, not now not ever."

Chopper blinked up at the tall man, awe for the cook's confidence in their nakama filling his chest "Amazing Sanji," the animal squealed "so cool!"

…..

After gathering more firewood, and stocking the bonfire high to ensure that it did not burn out quickly, the duo crawled back into the shack only to freeze in horror at the sight that greeted them.

Zoro was struggling to sit up, his hands fingering the tube sticking out of his side in a drunken state, his brain still fogged by the anesthesia.

"Zoro!" Chopper shrieked darting forward and pushing the man back down on his makeshift bed and gently gripping his hand to draw it away from his side "You need to lay back down, and stop moving. Your fever is high enough as it is, and I don't want you getting worse."

A pained whimper slipped from the man's lips as glazed unfocused eyes stared at the doctor and cook "Wha-" he gasped is a harsh whisper "What's wrong with me…my side…something…is stuck in my side?"

"Zoro, you need to listen to me," the reindeer spoke in a clear articulated tone so to make sure that the swordsman understood every word "you have appendicitis and it burst. There is a tube sticking out of your side, and it is draining the fluid that built up around the infection out of your body. You need to stay still and wait till we're found by our crew, if you don't the infection will get worse, and there is nothing I can do to save you."

"No…" Zoro whined in a childish tone, shaking his head from side to side "get it out…I don't want it in there…get it…out."

Chopper sighed "The fever is making him delirious," he murmured quietly "he's not going to be very cooperative…"

"Like he is any other time…?"

"…AND we need to keep an eye on him," the reindeer continued giving Sanji a playful glare "he could hurt himself or even make his condition worse due to unneeded stress."

"Right," Sanji groaned "ok, I'll keep him under control; you focus on keeping him alive."

"Right!" Chopper nodded.

"…Ugh…"

The moan drew their attention, only to see the swordsman curling up on his uninjured side, drawing his legs up as far as they could go without straining his incision "….Hurts…"

Chopper turned to the cook "We need to get his fever down as fast as possible, get something we can soak and dip it in the ocean so we cool him off."

"Of course," the cook looked around searching for something to use as a washcloth before finally just ripping the sleeves off his shirt and racing to the water's edge.

Dipping the cotton sleeves into the brine, he ran back to the shack and gently draped one of the sleeves across the moss headed man's forehead. Zoro flinched from the contact, his chest heaving as he grimaced in discomfort.

"S-Sensei," he whimpered "Don't…don't f-feel good…I'm cold, and my….stomach hurts."

"Who is he talking to?" Chopper wondered aloud from where he sat crushing up what little medication he had available to give to the pained man.

"His teacher," Sanji replied softly "from what I understand, I think the man who taught him how to use a sword probably also raised him. I mean," the blond fumbled bobbing his head from side to side as he tried to formulate an answer "I don't know everything, Zoro isn't exactly chatty about his past, but from what happened with the letter, that is the only conclusion I can come up with."

Chopper nodded in understanding "He's going to complain about being cold because he has the chills, but the only thing we can do is ignore those in deference to getting his fever down that takes precedence over personal comfort if we want him to survive the night."

Sanji nodded, taking the second sleeve and dabbing it along the exposed skin of Zoro's neck and back, making the man give an involuntary shiver "Aye, aye,"

"One more thing,"

The cook glanced up and saw Chopper giving him a look he positively abhorred, it was the look a person gives another person when they're about to say something monumentally bad, and don't want to spit it out for fear of the other's reaction. "I need to leave,"

"Say what?!" Sanji spat his jaw dropping in shock.

"I'm running out of medicinal herbs to keep the infection at bay," Chopper breathed his eyes downcast in shame "I can run into the jungle and find more with my sense of smell, but someone needs to stay behind and take care of Zoro."

"And of course that someone is me," Sanji ground out before shaking his head in abject defeat "alright go," he muttered waving a hand of dismissal at the reindeer "it's not like I can argue with that logic."

"Great, thanks Sanji!"

In a flash, the deer was gone, leaving the cook along in the makeshift shelter with a delirious swordsman "Well, it's only Zoro with a fever," Sanji said with as calm a shrug that he could muster "its not like things can get worse, right?"

Suddenly an iron grip encased the blond cook's wrist, making the man give a yelp of pain. Whipping his gaze back to the suffering comrade, Sanji winced at the look Zoro was giving him.

"I'm so sorry," he wheezed "it's all my fault…my fault you died…forgive me…Kuina…"

"I take it back…this is worse."

**How was that? You guys like?**

**FYI, I will NOT be able to update for at least a month, my schedule is CRAZY hectic, and I'm moving to Europe in a little over three months, so I have a TON of stuff left to do.**

Any request or one shot ideas, leave in the review, if I think they are interesting, I will gladly write them!

**Thanks a bunch guys!**


	7. Playtime

**Hello! I decided to do a small break in between the Appendicitis arc, and do a fun piece of fluff! **

**BTW, YES, I know this chapter will be totally OOC for Zoro, but that's why this is FUN. Ok?**

**Because after all, who **_**doesn't**_** think that playing with Zoro might be fun?**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own One Piece…that is all**

**...**

Nami never considered Zoro to be the playful type.

With his serious gaze, and almost antisocial attitude, he seemed to have a consistent pattern of behavior that most (if not all) of the crew depended on. The only person who seemed unfazed by the man's dangerous aura was none other than the captain of their crew. Luffy had no qualms about trying to get Zoro involved in various random games of tag and hide and seek, something that never failed to confuse and amuse the older members of the crew, but the swordsman rarely ever complied. It was these pieces of evidence that cemented the knowledge to the _Thousand Sunny_'s navigator that Zoro just wasn't a playful person.

However it was a situation unlike any other that proved to Nami, just how little they knew their resident swordsman.

On a bright sunny day Zoro had been sitting in his usual napping spot on deck, however the man was not enjoying the day by basking in the sunlight whilst sleeping, instead he was sitting with his arms crossed looking very much like a sulky child. Dark green eyebrows were furrowed in frustrated anger, and a small pout was actually poking his bottom lip out making him look almost, endearing.

Nami found him like this after walking out of the galley with a cone of homemade ice cream in hand, and felt this behavior so surprising, she had actually froze in place while one eyebrow lifted in shock. As a snort of laughter rocked her frame at the absurdity of the sight, she walked over to the warrior, and glanced down, her head cocked to one side as she assessed the situation in front of her. Zoro met her steady gaze, and raised his own eyebrow, adding an air of petulance to his already childish pouting fit.

"Um…" the navigator suddenly found it difficult to speak without laughter sneaking into her undertones "are you ok, Zoro?"

Zoro pursed his lips in careful thought before answering with a grieved sigh "…No…"

"Can I ask what's wrong?" Nami pressed her curiosity raging to find out what could affect Zoro to act so strangely.

The swordsman wilted as he was reminded of why he was angry in the first place, and his bottom lip stuck out in an ever more prominent pout as he turned his face away from Nami and sent a death glare out into the middle distance.

Nami had seen variations of that look before, and was able to deduce rather easily that it was something he didn't want to talk about because he was most likely embarrassed about it. She swallowed a giggle at how the twenty-one year old warrior had turned himself into a sulky five year old, and instead focused on solving the mystery.

"Come on," she wheedled, giving Zoro the same smile that you would use to instill trust with a small child "you can tell me, pretty please?"

Zoro hunched his shoulders, showing that he was definitely in no mood to spill the beans concerning why he was acting so strangely, and Nami sighed in disappointment as her hope of entertainment in the midst of an otherwise boring afternoon began to wave its fond farewells. However Zoro would not have his way, because Usopp piped up from one end of the deck, explaining the reasoning behind the swordsman's dark mood.

"Luffy found Zoro's secret candy stash, and ate it all," the sniper confessed in a somber tone "even the gourmet chocolate that he had been rationing out to last until he had enough money to buy more."

"Nobody asked you!" Zoro bellowed, baring his teeth the way a cat would his fangs.

Nami stared at the swordsman, her shoulders shaking with barely restrained mirth as she processed what Usopp had said "He's upset," she giggled softly, one hand covering her mouth to stifle her laughter "because Luffy stole his secret candy stash?"

Zoro turned his poisonous gaze to the navigator, his green eye narrow with the righteous fury that is only known by fellow sugar addicts who had been deprived of their drug of choice "Hey," he snarled "not everybody gets their own personal chef to make them special snacks whenever they want, some of us actually have to save up and try to portion out our stuff so we don't run out."

"Well, yeah," the girl shrugged a wicked grin tugging at her lips "I can definitely understand that…but, why are _you_ so cut up over a candy stash?"

"Zoro's a sugar addict," Usopp sing-songed in the background.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Zoro shrieked as he pounced towards Usopp.

Nami finally doubled over in irrepressible laughter, tears springing to the corners of her eyes as she struggled to draw a laugh in between uncontrollable guffaws "Y-You," she gasped "you're so _big_ and _scary_," her words were interrupted by a violent snort while pale arms folded to clutch her now aching sides "and you're pouting over Luffy stealing your…your _CANDY STASH!_"

"This is serious woman!" Zoro yelled, stomping his foot as if that would somehow emphasize the severity of the situation.

"Oh yeah," Nami chortled "_so extremely serious!_"

Zoro grit his teeth, grinding them together until suddenly he paused. He hadn't really noticed before, but Nami was holding homemade ice cream, and on the rare occasion when Sanji made enough for the whole crew, he knew it to be pretty tasty (despite being made by the idiot love-cook). And a malicious grin full of evil intent lit the man's face.

"Alright, make fun all you want," the man practically purred "but in the end, I'm going to have the last laugh."

"Huh?" Was all Nami managed to get out before Zoro pounced.

Diving forward with the speed that aided him so well on the battlefield, the green haired man flashed to Nami's side and grabbed the wrist holding her ice cream cone. The navigator only saw him opening his mouth to take a bite, and immediately began thrashing, wiggling the cone just enough to prevent him from eating her snack.

"HEY!" she screamed "That's mine-Don't you even DARE!"

Zoro threw his head back, and let out a boisterous laugh before pinning Nami with a mischievous glare full of malice "But it's just a snack," he taunted "only a cone of ice cream, it isn't anything _extremely serious."_

"This is _my_ ice cream," Nami pouted, twisting her wrist as she thrashed from side to side, trying to free her body from Zoro's grasp "and you can't have it!"

"But you've made it abundantly clear that snacks, especially sweets, aren't worth getting upset over," Zoro reasoned in a dark growl while a wide smirk stretched his lips "so it shouldn't matter if I want a bite."

Amber eyes went wide, and Nami felt indignant anger bubble up in her chest as her words were thrown back at her while she fought for the ownership of her own sweets "Fine, I get it," she snipped back "you made your point, so can you please let me go?"

Zoro made a show of thinking it over, before suddenly giving a wicked smirk "Nah,"

Lunging forward, Zoro neatly chomped a decent bite of her ice cream, plus a chunk of the cone, and flitted away so he could enjoy watching their navigator's impending tantrum. Nami did not disappoint.

"OH-YOU-I JUST-ARGH!"

"Nami-swaaaan!" Sanji sang from the door before pausing as he saw the obvious anger radiating off her form.

Walking calmly from the galley to the railing, Sanji took his cigarette from his mouth, and sneered over it at the few people standing on deck "Alright," he snarled "who upset Nami-san?"

Usopp and Nami immediately pointed at Zoro, but even if they hadn't Sanji would have figured it out anyway. The swordsman in question was standing apart from the group, a small dribble of chocolate ice cream decorating his chin and nose, and was happily munching on the bit of cone he was able to abscond with. Almost as if he could sense the cook's infuriated gaze upon him, Zoro gave one last crunch to the cone in his mouth, and swallowed, an entirely too-innocent look enveloping his features. The blond haired cook glare at the sword master, his one visible eye smoldering with fury, as he slowly began to walk down the steps and approach Zoro.

The green haired man knew he was in for a world of hurt, especially considering the evidence stacked against him. He had not only upset Nami into a speechless fit of rage, but the reason for how she had ended up in that condition was because he had taken a bite out of her carefully prepared snack _without_ her permission. In short, he had stolen food from a woman. Oh yeah, he was about to have a very intimate encounter with death.

However, the swordsman considered as he cocked his head and caused the earrings to jingle in the wind, he couldn't deny that the situation itself had somehow caused him to feel like breaking out of his carefully crafted shell for just a short period of time. Stupid antics accompanied by copious amounts of goofiness, was usually left to Luffy, or any of the other members of the crew. Zoro had never taken part in such things unless they fit into the persona that everyone knew him for, but right now with the sun so bright and the breeze on the water so lively, the swordsman couldn't hold back a self satisfied grin that was still covered in ice cream.

"He…He…" Nami gasped before pointing an accusatory finger at Zoro and screaming "He STOLE MY ICE CREAM!"

Sanji's eye exploded into a vengeful blaze "DIE!" he shrieked while casting a well aimed foot for Zoro's face.

The swordsman blocked it just enough to avoid injury, but for once in their long rivalry, he allowed Sanji to "gain" the upper hand and beat him up.

Nami tore her eyes away from her ice cream, and glanced over to where Zoro lay on the ground, his arms blocking his head, while the cook kicked and stomped on his curled up frame. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, for it was common knowledge that in their fights, one rarely (if ever) got the better of the other. But as she looked closer at the scene she realized something. Zoro was grinning throughout the entire beating. Her jaw dropped in abject shock, and as her mind reeled, the green haired man in question met her gaze and gave a smarmy one eyed wink in her direction.

For the second time that day, Nami found herself locked in the throes of helpless laughter. Sanji had taken this as encouragement for his valiant effort to avenge Nami's snack, but Zoro knew it for what it was. She had put the pieces together and realized that he was letting Sanji beat out his anger so that he wouldn't have to deal with the cook's attitude later, and while he was definitely meeting the steel toed end of shiny shoe leather, Zoro was quite happy and proud of himself for his daring deed and most assuredly didn't regret a thing.

…..

"Aw, Junk it,"

Franky paused, his eyes drifting up to a certain swordsman who was currently sitting on the railing of the _Thousand Sunny_, his keen eye watching the harbor that they were currently pulling into.

Walking up behind the man, Franky heard incoherent mumbling, followed by the occasional whispered "Junk it," from the green haired man.

To say that his interest was piqued would be an understatement, what on earth did "Junk it," mean in the first place?"

"Oi, Zoro-bro," the shipwright called as he walked up to where the man sat and leaned against the railing "what ya doing?"

"Hm?" Zoro glanced over to Franky, a slight blush dusting his cheeks as he realized that the cyborg had overheard. Turning back to the shifting waters, the swordsman muttered his reply "Nothing."

"Nuh-uh," Franky grinned poking his sunglasses farther up his head with one gigantic finger to pin the green haired man with a teasing grin "I specifically heard you say 'Junk it' while muttering to yourself, and I'm curious to find out what that means."

"It doesn't mean a thing!" Zoro tried, hoping against hope that he would get Franky to leave him alone.

No such luck.

The cyborg let out a deep chuckle "Sorry bro, but I'm not put off that easy. What are ya muttering about over here?"

Zoro's head dropped down till his chin rested on his chest, and he let out a frustrated sigh "It's…" he hesitated for just a moment, but an eyebrow wiggle from the man beside him forced an answer to surface "It's just a…stupid game, that I made up."

The mischievous smile left the half robot's face as his eyes widened "Really?" he replied "What kind of game?"

Zoro shifted in discomfort, his one good eye switching from Franky back to the port they were passing by before giving a resigned groan and pointing out towards the people "Basically the rules are you find a person, any person, and you try to come up with as many ideas on what they are doing and why they're doing it. The first to run out of ideas has to claim Junk It, and loses the game."

"Ok," Franky nodded "so give me an example."

The swordsman scanned the crowds until he found a woman dressed in extremely gaudy clothes carrying what looked like was a giant hat box "That woman," he nodded pointing her out for the cyborg "my guess is that she bought a hat for a party tonight."

Franky smirked, understanding that this game was a more advanced form of 'people watching', and cocked his head "I don't know, she looks like she's in a hurry, and her lips are all pinched like she's upset. Maybe she got home and realized it was the wrong hat."

"Or that it didn't fit her big head," Zoro snorted.

"OR…" Franky chuckled "that hat box is actually a cover for a nefarious deed. She's delivering money to pay a ransom to get her husband back who was tragically kidnapped last night after he went to the local pub with his buddies and never came home."

A grin split Zoro's face as he suddenly realized how much fun it was to actually play the game with another person "I've got one better," he chortled "she's a taxidermist for rich people, and she stuffs the bodies of their pets; inside that box is the dearly departed cat Fluffykins, and she has to get him back to her shop before he is beyond saving."

Franky felt a bark of laughter rip from his mouth and he shook his head "Junk It," he guffawed "that was too good, I can't top that one."

"Alright," Zoro smirked warmth spreading in his chest as he relished in his first real win.

They sat like that for a moment, until the cyborg broke the silence "So," he said slowly "my turn to pick?"

Zoro's gaze flitted back to Franky, shock causing his eye to widen ever so slightly "You still want to play?"

"Yeah," the half robot grinned boyishly "it's a lot of fun."

"Oh," the green haired swordsman replied simply before turning his gaze back to the port "ok, take your pick."

"Hmm," Franky tapped his lips thoughtfully scanning the crowds as he considered.

"How about choosing that couple?"

Both men jumped at the voice, whirling around to see Usopp and Brook standing behind them, the sniper pointing out into the harbor at two obviously drunk young men walking down the street with their arms slung over each other's shoulders.

"Well, they're obviously celebrating something," Franky was the first to recover his wits enough to reply "right, Zoro-bro?"

The swordsman sat motionless on the railing, his jaw hanging slightly open as his game had somehow gained more players. He had never intended that any of the crew find out about his game, and while he was pleasantly surprised that Franky was willing to play and did not consider the game itself childish, he wasn't sure he was willing to let anyone else in on it yet. However fate, it seemed, did not wish to be so kind as to allow him that luxury.

"Uh," the man replied dumbly "y-yeah, obviously."

"Ah," the skeleton replied sagely raising one bony finger "but celebrating what, is the question."

"Maybe one of them just got engaged," Usopp supplied.

"Nah," Zoro chuckled weakly, still trying to process just what was occurring "if that was the case, I think he would wander around in a daze like one of those zombies on Thriller Bark."

The three other men enjoyed a good laugh at that before looking back at the two "Junk It," Franky smirked "I can't think of anything."

Zoro pursed his lips "Maybe they are just enjoying a night on the town."

"Or they got a job they had both been wanting." Usopp suggested.

"Or maybe they both got dumped,"

Zoro flinched at that voice, and slowly turned to see Sanji coming to lean against the railing, a lit cigarette hanging from his lips. The blond turned to look at the group "What are you all playing?"

"Junk It," Franky smirked sending a conspiratorial wink to Zoro "haven't you ever heard of it? It's a great traveling game."

Sanji paused, his lips pursing as he pondered the name "Mm, nope," he said "I haven't, but it sounds like fun."

Zoro snorted, knowing very well that the blond wouldn't have said so if he knew who had made it up in the first place. Brook shrugged, his arms crossing in front of him "I have not heard of it either, but as you say Sanji-san, it is enjoyable."

"Ok," Usopp cried "too many people came in the last round, we need a whole new round."

"Then pick someone already," Franky chuckled.

Usopp scanned the crowd, one hand shielding his eyes, his gaze serious as he searched for the ideal person. "That one!" he cried triumphantly.

The group of guys followed his pointing finger to see a man and wife, each holding the hand of a small child, and they were deeply embroiled in an explosive argument.

Zoro snorted "Just looking at the situation, I would say it was probably the woman's fault."

"HEY!" Sanji snarled "You don't know that! If anything, it was the man's fault because he was too busy being an insensitive jerk to that delicate flower."

"Maybe," Zoro smirked "but he's not the one yelling, plus he's carrying all of the baby supplies, and he also looks malnourished and the rings under his eyes say that he's probably not sleeping well either. But she is perfectly healthy, covered in makeup and jewelry, and the most she's doing is dragging a kid behind her, all the while screaming at the man. The evidence points to it being an abusive relationship where that poor man ended up being married to a spoiled brat who doesn't appreciate him, and treats him like scum."

The cook opened his mouth to scream back a retort even as he took a second look, but his teeth clicked together as he snapped his jaw shut. He hated to admit it, but the man _was_ malnourished to the point of looking sickly. And while he carried the small child with care, minding the boy's little footsteps ensuring that he didn't trip, the woman was dragging the other little boy carelessly by the arm, not even glancing over her shoulder when the child stumbled, but merely jerked the child's arm hard enough to illicit a cry of pain.

Zoro watched Sanji absorb this and was stunned to hear his reply "It could be a bratty younger sister," the blond muttered.

"True," the swordsman smirked "I can't think of a single man stupid enough to willingly land himself into _that_ kind of relationship."

Sanji chuckled, and looked out to the port harbor "Aw, Junk It,"

**Just a little bit of senseless Nakama-ship.**

**I ya'll enjoyed it!**

**OH! BTW! The person who won and gets to request a one shot is CallmeEevee.**

**So CallmeEevee, please be sure to send me your one shot request!**


	8. Appendicitis4

**Okeydokey, back to Appendicitis.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, wish I did because then Zoro would get a whole lot more screen time and focus on his backstory…but I don't, thus why I am forced to write fanfiction and sob quietly into my pillow that I don't get to see more Zoro goodness.**

Sanji froze "I take it back," he groaned at the delirious swordsman "this is worse."

Zoro's bottom lip quivered as tears welled up in his good eye; his breath coming in harsh labored gasps even as the fever dulled his gaze making it foggy and unfocused "I'm so sorry," he whispered "My fault…my fault you died…my selfishness…took your life…all my fault…"

The cook sighed as another piece of the puzzle known as 'Zoro's Past' fell into his path, making the man even more of an enigma "Zoro," Sanji said slowly and firmly hoping that the man understood his words through the delirium "I'm not Kuina, but whoever that is, I'm sure they don't blame you."

The green haired man suddenly began to shake, his chills becoming more violent as Zoro continued straining his already fragile health "I st-stole it," he gasped, his one emerald eye filling with shame "I stole y-your dream…yo-you should have b-been the str-strongest…not me…and you died be-because of m-me…my selfishness…it st-stole your dream…"

Sanji reeled back, feeling like he had been slapped "Zoro," he growled through clenched teeth "you would _never_ ruin someone else's dream, that's not like you. I don't know how this Kuina died, but it can't be your fault!"

"B-But I prom-mised," Zoro continued, not hearing the concerned man's words, while chattering teeth made the swordsman stutter "I pr-promised you…I wou-would m-make it up t-to you…I'll b-be the strongest…I p-promise…"

"Ok, marimo, ok" Sanji said in a soft soothing tone, gently pushing the man back down onto the makeshift bed and wiping his face down with the damp cloth "you're going to keep that promise, you'll be the strongest and this Kuina will be able to rest peacefully knowing you kept your word."

"Pro-promise," Zoro murmured in a barely audible whisper as his eyelid drifted shut and he began to fall back into unconsciousness "I'm…sorry…"

Sanji fell back into a more comfortable position on the sand as he sat by the invalid's bedside, his brow furrowed with worry at the bright red flushed across Zoro's face and neck "What are we going to do with you?" he wondered aloud as he pondered the small fragments of information he had been given concerning Zoro's past.

Finally with a sigh, the man shuffled out to dip the cloths in the ocean, as well as a short smoke break.

…..

Chopper raced around the jungle, his keen nose searching for any and all herbs and plants he could use to help Zoro.

His stomach was clenched in fear as he considered the swordsman's condition, and how much time he had left "Please, everyone," the reindeer whispered in a prayer "please get here soon."

…..

Sanji kicked up the bonfire, creating higher flames as he added fuel, hoping that the _Thousand Sunny_ would arrive soon when he caught movement out of his peripheral vision. Thinking it might be Chopper, Sanji turned, a happy greeting on his lips. Those words quickly fell to the sands to be forgotten, because what he saw was not their ship's doctor, but the hulking form of a wolf slinking into the shelter.

Panic gripped his heart, and Sanji grabbed the nearest flaming branch, pulling it out of the bonfire, and charging their makeshift shelter "HEY!" he screamed at the top of his lungs waving the branch from side to side "GET OUT OF THERE! SHOO! LEAVE!"

The blond stopped in front of the shelter to find the swordsman still unconscious on the sand, with the black wolf standing over his prone form, glittering teeth bared in a savage snarl while it's silver eyes glowed reflecting the light of the flames. Its black fur was matted, and its ribs showed through, moving as it breathed, and that was when Sanji realized that it was a rogue wolf. Expelled from its pack, this wolf was left to starve slowly, and out of anyone the cook knew that starvation makes even the most civilized of humans to become feral. But when you take an already wild animal and make it go without food that makes the situation so much worse.

Adrenaline rushing to his head, Sanji dove forward, hitting the wolf on the side of its flank with the flaming branch even as the animal lunged at him. Sharp teeth sunk into his shoulder, while claws left bleeding gashes down the front of his chest and stomach. Sanji flailed under the wolf, unable to attack or defend due to the cramped space of the shelter, and could only roll around, desperately trying to get the animal off.

The branch was knocked from his hand, sending it across the sand to lay near Zoro, and Sanji bit back a scream of pain as the wolf thrashed its head from side to side, tearing ever deeper into Sanji's flesh.

"He-Help…!" Sanji gasped in a whispered scream, his hands clawing at the matted black fur pinning him to the shifting sands beneath his body.

Gradually his struggles became weaker as the fear, exhaustion, and sheer amount of emotional stress began to take its toll, and the cook felt his strength to fight leave him. The wolf sensed this, and reared back its head for the finishing bite to the throat, but it suddenly was flung off the blond with a sharp yelp, and Sanji turned his head slowly to see Zoro sitting up, the fevered haze temporarily lifted off his glittering green eye and his white sword in hand.

Sanji could tell that that one movement to defend his life cost the man dearly, and judging by the way his shoulders and hands trembled, he was about to pass out. With one last burst of adrenaline, the cook dove to the side and grabbed the branching, thrusting the hungry flames towards the wolf. The animal took off, its unhappy snarls echoing into the night as it disappeared into the jungle.

The two men collapsed onto the ground side by side in mutual groans of relief, Zoro's head landing near Sanji's feet, while the blonds' head was somewhere around the green haired man's knees.

Zoro labored for air, even as he gazed into the middle distance in confusion "The beach," he mumbled only partly to himself "a wolf, and there's a weird tube sticking out of my side…why do I feel like I missed something?"

Sanji snorted in laughter, shaking his head at the sheer, welcome, observation skills (or lack thereof) that so often came with their swordsman "Probably because you did," he snickered.

The green haired man blinked in surprise, sending out a puff of sand as he exhaled a short breath "…Oh…"

"Oh…oh?!" Sanji suddenly found the situation hilariously funny, blame it on the stress, and found himself cackling at Zoro's reply "That's all you have to say?"

"What do you expect me to say?" the man retorted with no real heat "I'm still trying to process how I got on the beach."

Sanji rolled his eyes with a snort before doing his best Zoro impression "Well you could say 'Oi, curly-brow, why do I have a tube stuck in my gut?' or something like that."

"I was going to get around to it," Zoro replied petulantly before suddenly pausing, his eye widening in mild shock "Oi…cook…"

"Don't even say it," Sanji sighed in mild amusement "you kind missed the timing,"

"No," Zoro shook his head violently as he struggled back up to a sitting position "look at your hands!"

Sanji's eyes widened and he looked down at his hands only to feel his heart leap in his throat in terror. They were bright red and blistering burns covered his palms, already turning white as they stood in large welts on his flesh. Almost as if acknowledging their existence made them remember they were supposed to hurt, searing pain burned through his palms and up to his fingertips, making them twitch and spasm, even as Sanji tried to bite back his own cries of pain.

A shuffling sound caught the cook by surprise, and Sanji glanced up only to see Zoro walking back into the shack, apparently having left while Sanji had sat in shock from looking at his hands, and was holding three or four large cactus leaves.

"What are you doing idiot?!" The cook snarled, trying to thrust his sorrow for his hands to the back of his mind as he berated Zoro's carelessness "You're not supposed to be moving! You can't afford for that tube to shift and leave any of the infection inside of you!"

"I get that," Zoro replied with a sullen glare as he sat himself across from Sanji, exhaustion and pain written across his features in a stark mask "but I know that I can get through this, you're hands are more important, they need to be taken care of right now or the burns will make it hard for the skin to heal and you won't be able to move your hands as well in the future."

Sanji's jaw snapped shut, unable to argue with the marimo, and with a sigh of resignation, held out his hands to the swordsman's care.

Ripping one of the cacti leaves apart, Zoro carefully squeezed each piece, applying the pure aloe onto Sanji's burns "Do we have anything to use for bandages?"

Sanji glanced over to see a roll of gauze bandages Chopper had left behind and nodded in their direction "Over there, Chopper left them, he should be back soon."

Zoro nodded, affirming that he understood while reaching over to grasp the roll, and gently begin wrapping the cook's hands "I can't promise anything since I'm, y'know, not a doctor, but I think you're safe for now."

Sanji pulled his hands back to his chest, grief and worry over the condition of his hands causing him to suddenly go weak "Thanks…" he whispered, turning his back to the swordsman.

Zoro shrugged "You said yourself that a cook's hands are his life; it would be like to take my white sword and chop it up into pieces. There are some things that must be protected because they are irreplaceable."

The cook swallowed a ball of emotion that lodged itself neatly in his throat, preventing him from snapping back a witty retort over how Zoro was getting soft, and had to content himself with just a meek nod of agreement to the man's words. Relief, not to mention no small amount of disbelief, over Zoro's sentiment concerning his hands made him feel a surge of gratitude for the swordsman being counted among his nakama, and Sanji released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. A strong hand shook him from his thoughts as it landed on his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"It's gonna be alright,"

Those words, so soft in tone, yet indestructible in the strength they afforded caused tears to well up in the cook's eyes, and Sanji quickly swiped them away, his face heating in embarrassment "I know that," he sniffled quietly "idiot marimo."

A snort sounded from where Zoro sat, but the hand stayed where it was, offering what comfort it could from a currently deathly ill man. Sanji relished in its warmth wondering, not for the first time, how he had ever lived without the wild and wacky Strawhat crew.

After a few moments of companionable silence, Sanji cleared his throat, suddenly reminded of a question he wanted to ask the moss haired man "Oi, Zoro,"

A tired grunt was his reply, and Sanji licked his lips nervously "Who," he asked slowly before diving in "who's Kuina?"

The hand stiffened before falling away, leaving Sanji feeling isolated and cold "Why do you ask?"

"Earlier," the blond said quietly "you were delirious from your fever, and you kept calling me Kuina, and apologizing over and over. So I was wondering, who is that?"

He heard Zoro sigh behind him, and Sanji waited for his answer.

"Years ago, when I was seven years old," the swordsman began, his voice soft and faraway as if he were reliving the events he was about to tell "I left home, determined to become the world's greatest swordsman."

"At seven?" Sanji asked his eye wide with curiosity.

"Yeah," the man nodded.

"That's the age _I_ left home at," the cook mumbled as Zoro got on with his story.

"So anyways, I moved into the dojo with Koshiro-sensei and he had a daughter named Kuina, and she was the best fighter I had ever seen use a sword."

Sanji felt his jaw drop in shock _"Kuina was a GIRL?!"_

Zoro quickly sent the blond a glare "I can feel your surprise, jerk. Yes she was a girl, and my best friend to boot. We would spar together every day until the sun went down, and even then we would sneak out at night and fight each other."

"Let me guess," Sanji growled, though his eyes held no malice "you didn't even take it easy on a girl, did you?"

"No I didn't," Zoro said smugly smirking at Sanji's indignant squawk "but that's because it was all I could do to stay alive!"

The blond cocked his head as yet another new idea that Zoro could be defeated dare penetrate his carefully crafted world "Come again…?"

"Yup," the moss haired man sighed "I never beat her, over the space of the years we trained together, we sparred two thousand times, and I lost every single match."

Sanji jaw hit the sand as he tried to wrap his brain around how calmly Zoro had said that he lost to a girl two thousand times, but he quickly sobered when a thought struck him "I get that, because of the situation with the letter," he said softly "but when you were delirious you were apologizing to her saying that…"

Here the cook paused, suddenly hesitant to reveal what the swordsman had said during his delirium, but forged ahead when Zoro raised a curious eyebrow "Well," Sanji coughed "you said that your selfishness stole her dream, and that you had to become the strongest to…to make it up to her."

Zoro blanched at that, his eye skittering down to look at the sand as he set his jaw, an internal battle raging over whether he should spill that particular bag of beans before heaving a sigh "Yeah," he whispered in a hoarse voice "that's true."

Sanji raised an eyebrow at that "Impossible," he spat finally "we may not agree on much, but I know that you would never ruin the dream of another person. You are a Strawhat, and the Strawhat pirates value the dreams of others and each other more than even gold."

The swordsman winced at the cook's tone, angling his face away from the man as he shifted in discomfort "…I…" he spoke hesitantly, hot tears pressing up the back of his eyeballs "I _killed her._"

Zoro bowed his head, waiting for the insults, the physical blows that would come as a result of his confession, but none came.

"Impossible."

The moss haired snapped his head back up to look in incredulous shock at the cook. Sanji glared venom at Zoro, anger at the man's display of utter defeat raging in his eyes.

"Stop that," Sanji spat "the Zoro I know never accepts defeat, the Zoro _I_ know would rather let himself practically be sliced in half than to accept a dishonorable loss, and the attitude you have right now is worse than a dishonorable loss, it's almost as bad giving up on your dream and forgetting your promise."

Zoro gaped at the cook before his gaze grew steely "Don't act like you know what happened," he snarled.

"No, I _don't_ know what happened," Sanji retorted "but I _do_ know _you_, and you would never intentionally cause the death of another person in order to ruin their dream."

"It was because of me she died!" Zoro bellowed.

"Prove it!" Sanji yelled back.

"The night of last spar," the man ground out, pure agony radiating from his good eye "I convinced her to use real swords, because in my selfish arrogance I was convinced it would make a difference. I was defeated, and that was the night we made the promise to each other to become the world's greatest swordsmen, and when we reached that pinnacle, we would spar one last time to find out who was truly stronger."

Zoro paused, gasping for air as his side gave a sharp twinge of pain, but continued, desperate to prove to Sanji that he wasn't the man the cook thought he was "The next day, she didn't want her father to find out about our illicit spar that night with real swords, and so she had to go to the storage shed for a whetstone in order to sharpen the blade and remove any evidence of our fight. She… Sh-She t-tr-tripped…"

Zoro's voice faltered, tears beginning to scorch their way down his cheeks, and his powerful fist clenched from the pain throbbing in his heart, and now increasingly in his side "She tripped down the stairs," he continued in a trembling voice, soft with the anguish that he had kept bottled up inside for so many years "and she broke her neck, and she…d-died. Years later I left the dojo, and Sensei gave me her sword so I could honor her memory by becoming the strongest. So you see curly cook, it_ is_ my fault. If I hadn't of forced her to spar with real swords even though I _knew_ it was against the rules, Sensei wouldn't have lost his daughter, and more importantly, Kuina wouldn't have lost her dream. It is my fault, and my biggest regret."

Sanji pursed his lips in thought, before opening his mouth "Well, I think that-"

Suddenly the young man was cut off when Zoro released the smallest of pained moans, and the man curled an arm around his side, gasping for air.

"Oi, Zoro," Sanji spoke hesitantly, one hand reaching forward to grasp the swordsman's arm "you ok?"

"Y-yeah," Zoro gasped, his face a mask of pain as he grimaced "I'm fine, it's nothing I can't han-AUUUGH!"

Without another word, or warning, the moss haired man pitched over and began to violently convulse in a full on seizure. Sanji scrambled to his side, his eyes wide with Panic "Zoro! ZORO!"

But Zoro could not hear him, and the cook felt his heart lurch in fear, turning around the blond screamed for all he was worth to the one person he hoped could help.

"CHOPPER!"

**Whoo! How was that?**

**Make sure you leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	9. Childhood friends

**Hello everyone! Since she was the 20****th**** reviewer, this is the request made by CallmeEevee who asked for the awesome story plot that I adore for Zoro. **

**It is time to see him chibi-fied!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of one piece…*sighs sadly***

**Warnings: Extended exposure to Zoro childlike adorableness could result in nosebleeds, swooning, fainting spells, ecstatic giggle fits, fangirl seizures, or spinning accompanied by sparkles and stars/intense noodling. Please read responsibly.**

To say that the events leading up to what would be later known as "The Problem" happened way too fast would be an understatement. To be honest, it all happened so quickly, no one really knew that something had gone wrong until it was far too late to try and fix it right away.

What they were able to piece together afterwards is that they had been fighting a particularly strong band of pirates, and the Straw Hats were backed into a corner with no way out. Then right when the fight had hit a fever pitch, the captain of their current nemeses had turned to Luffy, and clapped his hands creating a strange electrified ball of purple goo. With the flat of his palm, the man slapped the goo in a wide volley towards the rubber man, and it almost very nearly _did_ hit him. However what happened next just played into the status quo of their crew so perfectly because it was at once predictable, and completely incomprehensibly _unpredictable_ all at the same time.

Zoro jumped forward, his swords outstretched, intent on protecting his captain, and Sanji lunged as well, not wanting their swordsman to once again carry all the burden of defending the crew with his body. The goo hit them, sending both men into twin screams of pain as their bodies became rigid from the electricity arcing through and between them. The screams became louder and more shrill as the power from the goo built into unfathomable peaks of agony, before suddenly a large flash of light exploded right in the middle of the two men.

This is where our story begins.

It has been roughly two hours since the fight, the enemy pirates had fled, and the Straw hats are just beginning to regain consciousness after being blown away by the blast.

Nami sat up, one delicate hand cradling her head "Is everyone ok?" she groaned softly.

One by one, the pirates moaned their pained replies that they were indeed still alive.

"Suuuu-perrr," Franky growled as he struggled to lift his metallic body off the ground "or at least I will be once my head stops throbbing."

"I think I'm alive," Usopp gasped from where he lay on his back, his eyes clenched shut against the fierce rays of the sun "unless I'm dead, and I'm speaking as a ghost."

"You are quite alive Sniper-san," Robin chuckled softly "I'm unharmed as well Navigator-san."

Chopper gave a soft moan "Oh, I feel like I got hit by Luffy,"

"AH!" a startled shriek burst from a nearby pile of rubble as a skeleton shot up out of the demolished rock "I can't feel my heartbeat! Oh, of course I have no heart since I'm all bones. Skull joke! YOHOHOHOHO!"

Luffy gave a delighted giggle at his musician's consistent humor concerning his body, and clapped his hands "Yosh! All that's left are Zoro and Sanji!"

The team waited, knowing that surely they would hear the usual bickering that signaled the arrival of their last two members, but all they found was…silence.

"Zoro," Nami called, a worried frown scrunching her brow "Sanji, are you all right?"

Nothing, not even a snore from the green haired swordsman, or a coo from the perverted cook, all was still.

"Ah," the navigator sighed "this can't be good."

…..

A little blond haired boy of about five years of age walked down a street, his wide eyes bright with both wonder and fright as he gazed at his surroundings. Bringing shaking hands up to his chest, the child hugged himself, as he continued his lonely trek down the abandoned road.

However his fear for his current situation was quickly shoved out of his mind when the whimpered sobs of another young child cut through the still air. One curly eyebrow rising in interest, the boy followed the sounds and found himself in a dark alleyway, and the crying was coming from a young boy of about the same age who was hunched against the wall, his face buried in his knees.

Crouching down in front of the little boy, the blond cocked his head, and reached out until he could poke the other's head "Hey," he said softly "hey, why are you crying?"

The little boy looked up, green eyes accented by odd moss colored hair peeking over his knees "I-I," he gasped "I don't know where I am…and I'm sc-sca-scared!"

That last word made the boy melt into a fresh onslaught of tears and the blond patted the soft green hair comfortingly "It's ok, I'm lost too,"

"I'm not lost!" the green haired boy yelled indignantly despite the tears streaming down his face "I just don't know where I am!"

The blond giggled "Same thing, dork."

The other boy's bottom lip poked out in adorable pout, and he shoved his nose back between his knees intent on ignoring the other child, but his plan was foiled when the blond spoke again.

"Hey, my name is Sanji, what's yours?"

The boy considered his answer before he mumbled "…Zoro…"

"Zoro?" Sanji asked cocking his head "That sounds like a superhero name!"

Green eye once again dared a peek at his strange new friend, and a twinkle of hope glistened in their depths "R-Really?"

"Yeah!" Sanji cried "A hero with a sword and a black mask!"

"Cool!" Zoro exclaimed, his head bobbing up as one hand scrubbed away the remaining tears, and a smile decorating his face.

The blond haired boy smiled brightly, his grin stretching his whole face as he held out a hand "Hey, you wanna be my friend?"

"You don't wanna be my friend…" Zoro ducked his head as a blush stained his cheeks "I don't have any friends…no one likes me…because my hair and eyes are weird, and you'd get made fun of."

Genuine confusion stained Sanji's face before he once again donned his wide smile "I don't care about that, people make fun of me because I like to cook, and that's something that mostly girls do. I like your hair."

Amazed shock filled the emerald orbs, and a hopeful smile quirked the once sorrowful mouth, as his hand reached forward to grasp Sanji's, Zoro whispered "Ok,"

…..

"Sanji, Zoro!" Nami cried as she and the other Straw Hat pirates searched for their missing crew members.

"Sanji, Zoro-bro," Franky yelled, two giant metal hands cupped around his mouth "Where are ya?"

"Hey,"

The small voice caused the group to stop only to have their jaws drop in shock at what was surely a miniature cook peeking from around the corner of a building.

The little boy smiled cautiously as his other hand hung still unseen behind the building, almost as if he were hiding something "How do you know our names?"

"S-Sanji?!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper gasped in unison.

Robin chuckled softly as she knelt in order to be eye level with the small child "We're your friends."

"Are you sure?" Sanji asked cocking his head curiously "Cuz I don't remember you."

"Fufufu," Robin laughed again before running a gentle hand through his hair "you are our ship's cook, and there was a large explosion. That's why you probably don't remember."

The crew all smiled at Robin's easy explanation and immediately chimed in, telling him about the explosion and how big it was. Sanji nodded in understanding and then leaned back so that he could smile around the corner behind the building.

"Hear that? They're friends."

His arm gave a tug as whatever it was he was holding tried to get away, but Sanji just laughed "Don't be scared," as he pulled his arm and whatever was clinging to it out in the open "they're nice."

A small green haired boy stepped out from behind the building, his hand tightly gripping Sanji's hand, and once again the crew reacted in shock.

"ZORO?!"

Tears sprang to his eyes, and he quickly hid behind the blond boy, his free hand grabbing a clump of Sanji's sleeve. Sanji merely sighed and gave a gentle shake of his head.

"Sorry," he shrugged "Zoro's scared of people."

"Am not," was the mumbled reply but the green haired child didn't come out from behind his personal hiding spot.

"Zoro's scared?" Luffy asked incredulously, his face a mask of confusion "But…Zoro's never scared. Why's he different?"

"Aw Luffy," Franky smiled gently "Zoro-bro is still the same Zoro, but he's a mini bro now. He doesn't know that he grows up to be a tough swordsman yet."

At these words the little boy peeked out from behind Sanji's shoulder, his green eyes wide "I'm strong?" he asked in a timid voice.

"Yeah!" Chopper exclaimed "You're one of the strongest people I know!"

"You fight with three swords," Usopp said gallantly swishing his arms as he imitated Zoro in the midst of a battle "and you wear a black bandana, people called you the Demon Swordsman!"

A bright smile lit the child's features and he took a hesitant step out from behind the blond towards the strange group "Like a superhero?"

"Yes, very much like one Zoro-san!" Brook practically sang "In fact you have saved the lives of our crew many times!"

"See," Sanji grinned at his new friend "I told you that you had a superhero name."

"…But…" Suddenly the small child paused and his eyes became dark with fear and distrust as he stepped back behind Sanji "What about my hair? People say I'm a freak, and freaks don't get to be superheroes."

A lonely tear trailed its way down a grimy cheek, and Nami felt her heart crack, swooping down she crouched in front of Zoro and wrapped him in a large hug cuddling him close "I don't care about your hair, and neither does anyone else," she said firmly smiling at him confidently "anyone can be a superhero, no matter their hair color."

Nami began to tickle him, until a large grin split little Zoro's face, and a delighted giggle sprang from his lips "No tickles!" he laughed gaily "Stop, no tickles!"

Nami felt a spring of giggles burble from her throat as she watched the little boy in her arms calm down and give her a happy smile.

"I like you," he finally said with a decisive nod and flinging his arms around her neck and giving her a hug "you're nice."

Her heart went from cracked, to utterly melted, and Nami gave a helpless look to Robin while fluttering her eyelashes "Can we keep 'em?" she laughed.

Robin chuckled in her usual quiet way "We should go back to the ship to discuss how we're going to fix our little problem."

"We're going on a ship?!" both children squealed in delight.

"Yep!" Luffy shouted happily "The _Thousand Sunny_ is the best pirate ship around!"

Zoro's eyes went wide, and he immediately scrambled out of Nami's hug and clutched Sanji's hand again, the blond boy doing the same as the boys looked at the crew in horrified shock.

"YOU'RE PIRATES?!"

**Wow this got long, CallmeEevee, looks like I'm going to have to make this a multiple chapter fic. I'm sure you don't mind ;-) **

**MidKnight Moon, I am dreaming up your request as we speak!**

**As always, please review!**


	10. Appendicitis5

**Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig!**

**Ok, so here we are back to Appendicitis, and hopefully it should finish this chapter. I think…**

Chopper ran through the underbrush, his heart beating wildly inside of his chest as he sprinted at full speed back to the beach.

"CHOPPER!" Sanji's voice, a scream of desperation that echoed through the trees signaling that something had gone very wrong.

The animal shifted speed point, ducking his head for less wind resistance as a thousand panicked thoughts whirled through his head. Was Zoro ok? Had the infection spread faster than he had previously calculated? Or was it something far worse?

The answer to the reindeer's question came in a way that was at the very least, unexpected, for as Chopper pelted through the bush in his race to get to his patient's side, a pair of hungry jaws snapped at his hind legs, causing the animal to give a yelp of fright. Looking behind him, he saw the glowing eyes of a wolf pack, led by one scraggly, thin, scrap of a black wolf. He ran next to the pack leader, his head bowed in submission, even as he gazed hungrily at their quarry, and Chopper heard their voices loud and clear.

"_See Alpha,"_ the black rogue yipped to the pack leader _"I told you there was food, and there are two more on the beach, we'll dine well tonight!"_

"_Be silent,"_ Alpha snarled causing the black wolf to whimper _"you have done well showing food to the pack, but whether we will allow you to rejoin us as a member is still to be decided, for now focus on the hunt, and show me you're worthy to be our brother once more."_

The rogue wolf set his starving gaze on the reindeer, and Chopper gave a squeal of fright at his next words _"Consider it done!"_

Diving forward, the black wolf put on an extra burst of speed, his glistening fangs snapping closer and closer to the straw-hat's legs. Chopper screamed, and began to zig-zag through the trees, trying to shake off the wolf, and the rest of the pack, from following him, but hunger was a powerful motivator and the wolves hung on, shadowing Chopper's every move. The reindeer, his patient in mind, leapt into the air, giving a powerful hind kick, catching the black wolf right on the side of his gaping maw, sending him flying backwards. Landing lightly back on his feet, Chopper continued his desperate run, praying that somehow by reaching Sanji, he would find safety.

…

Sanji, despite his bandaged hands, struggled to hold Zoro down as the man writhed on the ground, his body convulsing in a violent seizure, while the cook hovered overhead hoping that the movement would dislodge the tube from his side and get sand in an already infected wound. The lone emerald eye had long rolled into the back of his head, and all the cook could hear from the swordsman's mouth was a muffled choking gasp, a sure sign that not enough air was reaching what were probably burning lungs.

"No, nonono," Sanji moaned, his blue eyes wide with panic "This is my fault; I got you angry, and made this happen."

Finally after what felt like an eternity to thrashing, it seemed Zoro's body finally lost the strength to keep moving, and he sank to the sand, his muscle bound body twitching and trembling feebly as his chest moved in shallow wheezing pants. Sanji sat back on his heels, his arms and hands shaking with uncontrollable tremors both because fatigue from holding the swordsman down during his seizure, and also sheer insurmountable panic fluttering in his chest.

"Please don't die," Sanji whispered desperately "please don't die, I'll let you off dish duty for a month, I'll stop getting mad when you tease me about taking care of the ladies, I'll even clean your swords for you, just please…don't…die!"

The cook waited, hoping for the snarky comment that Zoro always made signaling his health and his stubbornness to survive, but none came. The swordsman simply lay on the sand, his breath becoming softer and increasingly shallower with each passing moment, and Sanji felt an overwhelming flood of helplessness grip his heart in its icy chains. It was the kind of feeling you get that makes you want to just hug your pillow and cry, simply because you are left with no other option. Sanji sniffled, rubbing his nose with one hand, and fought back the tears. He couldn't give in now. Sure he was stressed, tired, injured, and more than a little angry at himself for pushing Zoro when he should have been insisting the green haired man rest, but he still had a job to do, and that meant no emotional meltdowns until he was absolutely certain they were safe, AKA, until they were back on the _Sunny_.

"SAAAA-NJIII!" and panicked scream bellowed from beyond the shelter.

The cook scrambled to his feet, immense relief at Chopper's return giving energy to his bruised and battered body. Racing out of the homemade shack, the cook felt his face fall as he watched Chopper sprint across the beach, with an entire pack of wolves behind him. His knees turned to jelly, and the cook almost stumbled to the ground, but picked himself back up before he made contact. He was so tired, and here was that stupid black wolf back again, trying to eat them. Sanji was officially ticked off.

His mouth a sneer of contempt, the cook activated his special technique, making his leg glow as if it held the fire of a volcano within the bone and sinew. Sprinting forward, the man skipped his usual battle cry announcing his attack and channeled all his anger and frustration on the enemies charging him. Digging his fiery leg into the beach, the cook smiled as he felt the sand melting around it, kicked the resulting glass up out of the earth. Jumping up, the blond kicked with his other leg, smashing the glass into shards, and sent them hurtling towards the pack of wolves.

Chopper screamed as he saw the barrage of glass flying towards him, and dove for the sand, whimpering as he heard them whistle overhead, narrowly missing his crouched body.

Many of the wolves yelped in pain, scampering back into the forest, but a decent portion was spared, and they continued their assault. Sanji ran forward, standing between Chopper and the wolves, bending his knees to prepare to attack, when suddenly the beach was rocked by a loud explosion sending the remaining wolves scattering. Turning around, the cook almost began to weep with relief when he saw the familiar silhouette of the _Thousand_ _Sunny_ mooring into the beach while Franky stood on the prow, his hand still transformed as a bazooka. The shipwright gave them a cheerful wave, and Sanji laughed in response.

Soon their crewmate was running across the beach, and Sanji met him halfway between the ship and the shelter "You're late," he growled.

"Sorry Sanji-bro," Franky shrugged "we made it a ways before we realized we were missing you, and then we chased down the marine ship thinking you guys were left fighting it, and then Nami thought that maybe you were swept overboard and might have swum to the nearest island."

"Count on Nami-swan to be brilliant and save our lives!" Sanji crooned.

"Oi," Franky said, his eyes becoming wide as he was struck by a sudden thought "where's Zoro-bro?"

The cook's happy cooing was cut off by the cyborg's question and he looked back to the shelter where the swordsman lay, and Chopper was currently working "…Well…"

As if he were the answer to Franky's question, Chopper came rushing out of the shelter, his eyes wide with fearful panic "We need to get Zoro to the infirmary NOW! His body's gone into sepsis, and he needs immediate treatment!"

Franky's eyes went wide as shock caused his features to become slack with shock, before he shook himself back into reality and ran across the sand, squeezing his hulking mass into the shelter and stepping back out carrying the swordsman. Zoro's skin was a flushed bright red, his body trembled weakly in the cyborg's arms as he gasped for air. Without another word, the crewmates ran as one towards the sunny, all screaming for their crew to prepare the infirmary, and get out of the way.

…

Sanji stepped out of the shower, his muscle bound body dripping with hot water, even though his hands were covered by fresh ointment, bandages, and wrapped in plastic so not to irritate the burns. And though he was humiliated, because he needed it, the cook allowed Usopp to assist him in washing his hair and body. Of course this made him angry and irritable due to the embarrassing sight of him standing with his hands outstretched away from the water while Usopp scrubbed his blond head making the hair glossy and sand free.

In no time though, he was standing fully dressed in front of the door of the galley, only to find that Robin and Nami had kicked him out.

"Consider this a well deserved, and much needed vacation Sanji-kun," Nami had chirped brightly.

"You work so hard to feed us, it would be wrong to expect you to work when your hands are so badly burned," Robin contributed with her usual gentle smile.

Sanji of course had spun out of the room, exuding hearts as he cried out his admiration and love for two such kind, beautiful examples of femininity, but after he had left the galley he realized that he had nowhere to go, and so was left standing helplessly on the stairs. With a huff, the man tried to light a cigarette, but his bandaged hands were clumsy as they fumbled with the lighter. Finally with a groan of exasperation, the cook threw the lighter down on the floor, and stomped on it, only to groan at his temper tantrum when he realized what he had done.

"I'm so pathetic," he growled softly as his eyes drifted to the infirmary door.

It had been almost four hours since Chopper had run inside with Zoro in tow, the reindeer had given Sanji enough attention to treat the burns and re-bandage his hands, but that was all he had seen of the doctor after that. Wandering over to the door, he looked up on the wall to see if the light was on signaling that the surgery was still in process. However the hall was dark, and the cook softly kicked the door in a form of knock, hoping and yet dreading that Chopper would answer the door.

Soon enough, the doorknob turned and Chopper peeked around the wood only to smile at Sanji "He," the small animal hiccupped with tears in his eyes "He's gonna be ok!"

A rush of relieved breath left the skinny blond, leaving him feeling vaguely lightheaded "Seriously?" he asked in a tired rasp "The infection is gone?"

"Not gone," Chopper shook his head sadly before perking up with a hopeful smile "but it will be soon. He's on an IV with strong antibiotics right now, and his fever's already gone down to a manageable level."

"Good," Sanji nodded, slumping against the doorframe and a fatigued smile tugged at his lips "Good,"

…

Zoro slowly came to, his gaze fuzzy and unfocused until after a few moments it sharpened to reveal that he was laying in one of the many infirmary beds. The green haired man slowly turned his head, mentally scowling at how heavy his body felt; which was a sure sign that Chopper had drugged him, something he hated with a passion. No one was in the room, though one window was open, allowing a cheery breeze to blow through the chamber, carrying with it the sounds of his captain and various crew members playing on deck. Zoro smirked as he suspected that it was probably the usual suspects playing a game of tag, or chase hide-and-seek, and no doubt Nami would be yelling at any moment for them to shut up.

Sure enough, he heard Nami's enraged screech, and the swordsman let out a dry cough as a chuckle tried to spring from his cracked lips. The motion caused a small throb to resonate from his abdomen, and the man looked down to see the familiar (though now sanitized) tube sticking out from his side in between swaths of bandages. It was dripping a yellowish substance that Zoro could only assume was the infection from his burst appendix and whatever else gunk had gotten inside him during their stay on the beach.

Suddenly the memories from the shack sprang back into the forefront of his mind, and Zoro gave a harsh wince when he remembered losing his cool in front of Sanji over his guilt concerning Kuina's death. A large bony hand clumsily raked through his hair, as the drugged man gave a groan of frustrated embarrassment.

"What is it with me," he snarled to himself "I can't even keep myself in check anymore."

Suddenly a bang resounded outside the door, making the swordsman jump, the drugs currently in his system making every message and alert from his brain thrice more painful and thus he immediately curled his hands around his head giving a moan of pain.

"Zoro?"

The man in question looked up to see the one person he would have preferred to avoid for at least a few months, which of course was the cook. Unfortunately Sanji wasn't a mind reader, and neither was Zoro, so of course neither of them knew what the other was thinking. Their thought processes went something like this…

"_Aw man,_" Sanji winced_ "He's glaring at me; he knows that it's all my fault his infection got worse because I pushed him too far on his past."_

Zoro's scowl deepened _"Why is he wincing? Unless he thinks I'm a weakling and can't handle anything he can dish out anymore. That JERK!"_

Sanji gave a small gulp as the scowl became an all out death glare _"…Oh yeah… He blames me all right…Maybe I have just enough time to write a loving letter of farewell to Robin-chwan and Nami-swan before I meet my impending death on the end of his swords."_

"_He looks like he wants to say something,"_ Zoro thought as he raised one eyebrow _"What's his problem anyway?"_

"_Is-Is he CHALLENGING ME?!" _Sanji thought suddenly getting angry by Zoro's risen eyebrow that seemed to mock him _"What, does he want me to ADMIT that it's my fault? THAT JERK!"_

Zoro watched the cook slowly become incensed with anger and rolled his one good eye _"That weirdo better say what's bugging him, because this cannot be good for his blood pressure."_

"_HOW DARE HE ROLL HIS EYE AT ME?!" _Sanji screamed in his head while a fiery aura encased his body _"What, is he waiting to accuse me himself for making him worse? He's got some nerve considering I'm the one who took care of him most of the time on that beach anyway!"_

Finally the two broke their inner monologue long enough to snap at each other unison "JUST SAY IT ALREADY!"

"No, I'm not saying anything until you admit to what you were going to say!" The blond growled.

Zoro looked confused "I was going to say what?"

"Th-that you blame me!" Sanji stuttered through his snarl.

"Blame you for what?" The swordsman yelled.

"For making you worse!" Sanji shrieked, tearing at his hair at Zoro who was apparently playing dumb "You want me to admit that prying into your past made the infection worse!"

"Why would I care about junk like that?" Zoro growled "Besides, you're the one who came in here treating me like I'm some pathetic weakling who can't take care of himself."

"Who says that I thought that?!" Sanji bellowed spreading his hands wide in a helpless gesture.

"I could tell because of the way you looked at me!" Zoro retorted a pout jutting out his bottom lip.

Sanji started to yell back, but then a thought came to him which caused him to pause, then to sigh, and then to crack up laughing. Zoro's jaw fell open in shock, and his hand itched to reach forward and check to see if the cook had contracted a fever.

"Uh, hey wonder brow," the green haired man ventured "you…ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the cook chuckled "I was just realizing how I'm really horrible at reading facial cues."

Zoro paused, then a smirk twitched one corner of his mouth, and a small snicker escaped his lips "That might be the first thing we found that we have in common."

The two men met each other's gazes for a little over a second before busting up into laughter "You," Sanji chortled you looked so serious, I thought for sure you were gonna kill me!"

"What about you?" Zoro chuckled incredulously "You came in here all scared and quiet, it freaked me out!"

The two lapsed into another round of laughter before Sanji stood up, shaking his head in amusement, and poured a glass of water "You thirsty?"

Zoro ran his tongue, which felt incredibly thick and slow, around what he soon realized was a sandpapery mouth "Yeah, actually."

The blond handed the swordsman the cup, adjusting the pillows and helping his nakama into a sitting position so that Zoro could drink it more easily. The green haired man took a long swallow, a sigh of relief as his parched mouth was rescued by the cool drink.

"Nothing like a dose of dehydration to make even the best of drinks pale in comparison to a glass of ice water, huh?" Sanji chuckled softly

"You can say that again," Zoro grunted his voice echoing slightly from the cup as he took another gulp.

"Nah, too long,"

Both men snickered at Sanji's joke before silence once again reigned in the room. Zoro set the cup down on the bedside table, pursing his lips as the conscience he normally pretended didn't exist urged him to reassure Sanji of his innocence.

"Oi, curly cook," he said in a quiet voice barely above a whisper "I don't blame you, and it wasn't your fault."

"But…" Sanji glanced up with shocked blue eyes "but I pried into your past, and I got you angry, that was when the attack hit."

"No," Zoro shook his head, "It had been building even when I was bandaging your hands, and even before that with the wolf, it just decided to hit at a stupid time, that's all."

"Oh,"

Silence once again fell, and Sanji chewed on his lip, feeling like he should finish his earlier sentiment that had been interrupted by Zoro's seizure.

"Oi, moss head,"

The swordsman quirked an eyebrow at the cook and nodded for him to continue, causing Sanji to stumble on his words, hesitating just a moment before taking a breath and plunging on.

"I think that you didn't steal Kuina's dream," he said softly turning his blue eyes to the floor "because she knew that you respected her as a swordswoman, enough to want to use real swords because you were so desperate to get an honest win against her, she wanted to use real swords against you too so that she could give you that chance.

"I mean, it's not like you tripped her down the stairs," Sanji continued, suddenly turning serious eyes on the bedridden man, his voice turning commanding and firm "in fact you were probably miles away doing some ridiculously heavy training all in preparation for your next spar, and so it doesn't make sense that her death would be your fault. She would have had to go down those stairs eventually, be it for water, or to buy groceries, or even to just play outside like a normal kid. Those stairs existed before you ever got there, you didn't build them, and I'm sure you never went up those stairs wishing that people who were better than you would trip down them. You're not that kind of person.

Suddenly the cook looked back down at the floor, his tone becoming hesitant and soft again "So what I'm trying to say is, don't beat yourself up, ok? It isn't your fault, nor has it ever been. I'm sure Kuina would be proud of the man you've become, but it would probably break her heart to see that her closest friend was killing himself on the inside with a sword of regret and guilt. So don't do it anymore, ok?"

Zoro opened his mouth, and then thought better of it. This was something he couldn't sum up in words, and he had no idea what to say. He gave a heavy swallow, a thick ball of an untold emotion and…gratitude for the cook's words, the man who was quickly becoming one of his closest friends. Finally with a nod, the green haired man rasped his reply in a voice husky from repressed emotion.

"I promise,"

**WHEW! That was hard. As anyone on here knows, writing friendship feel good fuzzy conversations with these two is HARD!**

**Ok, Appendicitis is FINISHED!**

**Make sure to leave a review about the arc!**


	11. Doped Up

**Ok, Ironically this came to me when I was re-watching Thriller Bark, and I thought "We all enjoyed seeing Zoro going uncharacteristically emo, and I know we all love when he gets embarrassed because it's is just so stinking cute….so why not do a crack fic with him acting loopy?"**

**So here is the crazy fic I dreamed up. **

**Summary: Zoro gets hit with something that basically makes him loopy, and Sanji and Nami are the ones who deal with it.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Oda, nor can I pretend to be, for I am Italian, while he is Japanese, not to mention the gender difference. Thus I cannot be him.**

Nami was fighting hard not to let her knees buckle from the sheer amount of mirth afflicting her frame, so badly she wanted to just sink to the ground and enjoy an epic gut busting laughing fit, but unfortunately she could not do so for fear of dropping her precious bundle.

Really the adventure had started the way things normally do, with her screaming at the crew demanding they take care of the ship and not destroy it, and then she commanded Sanji and Zoro to follow her so that she could go in search of the island's treasure hidden deep within a honeycomb of mines beneath a hulking mountain range. It was there that things took a turn for the strange, and oddly, hilarious.

Zoro had been walking along the path, grumbling about how he had better things to do than to escort a sea witch through an abandoned mine, when he had paused. Sanji and Nami turned to look at the swordsman when the complaining chatter they had grown used to ceased, only to find the green haired man poking at a strange looking purple flower.

"What is that?" Nami murmured.

"Don't know," Zoro answered "but Robin said something about plants being the reason for why this mine is abandoned, and I-"

Suddenly the flower bunched up, the bottom bulging, before expelling a shimmering blue spray that hit Zoro full in the face. The cook and Navigator winced, both of them dreading what the affects of said plant might be, while the swordsman shook his head violently from side to side.

"Whoa," he said blinking his eyes as he tried desperately to clear his suddenly spinning vision "that…that's just…"

As quickly as it had occurred, the man's eye rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed onto the ground "ZORO!" Nami shrieked running to his side.

"Oi, moss head," Sanji cried, following Nami to kneel beside the man and gently slap his cheek a couple times "hey, stop making Nami-swan worry, and wake up already."

"Urgh," came the incoherent moan before one unfocused green eye slowly lolled open "Hey guys," the man slurred with a dopey grin.

"H-Hi?" Nami answered slowly, exchanging a worried glance with Sanji "How are you feeling?"

"Uh…" the emerald gaze looked between them before gazing unsteadily into the distance while a large loopy grin stretched his face "I feel awesome…like…really good."

This statement was followed by a maniacal high giggle that made Nami and Sanji pale in horror, which led them to now. Walking down the long mine, Nami had decided that getting the treasure was still a good idea since the plant's affects seem to only make the swordsman uncharacteristically giddy, and now they were making their way deeper into the mine, carrying the green haired man between them.

"We are the pirates, who don't do anything," Zoro sang raucously before pausing with a confused pout "that isn't right," he muttered "we do lots of stuff."

Nami snorted, as the man puzzled through it, but it didn't take long as the man grinned to himself "I am the pirate who don't do anything," the swordsman amended earning a chuckle from the two carrying him "I just stay at home and lie around, and if you ask me to do anything, I'll just tell you, I don't do anything."

"Hey Nami," Sanji laughed "I wish we had some way to record this,"

"No kidding," Nami giggled.

"Hey, Hey Nami," Zoro slurred his green eye glowing excitedly "guess what?"

"What?" Nami smirked.

Zoro looked at her, his mouth hanging open before his gaze went blank "I can't remember," he sighed "I think I got lost again…in my head…"

The last part was whispered with a tone akin to horror and Nami lost it, having to pause as her entire frame shook with uncontainable mirth. Zoro looked at her, his goofy grin coming back to his face.

"You're really pretty," his deep voice said simply "like really pretty."

The laughter melted away as the Navigator looked at the swordsman in shock, her eyes bouncing between the green haired man and Sanji helplessly, and the cook merely shrugged as the swordsman continued in his stumbling words.

"I pretend that I don't look," Zoro nodded sagely his face serious as he whispered loudly "but I do…" suddenly the man paused pursing his lips in thoughtful silence before finishing "though probably not as much as Sanji."

That returned the smile back to the red head's face as she and the cook shared another look loaded with the personal amusement they were getting from this.

"Did you know I like to sing?" Zoro asked, changing the topic "I like to sing, I don't though 'cuz it isn't _tough_," he emphasized the word with a playful scowl before adopting the doped up look that had become familiar since the flower incident "but I like to sing."

"What else do you like to do?" Nami asked sending a wink at Sanji.

"Ping pong," Zoro answered in a sing song voice before giggling at his own answer.

"Ping Pong?" Sanji answered one eyebrow rising incredulously "Really?"

"Yeah!" The swordsman replied enthusiastically "Because…it's like holding a sword…but you're hitting a… a ball. And you can't smash it, you have to be controlled…otherwise the ball breaks."

Zoro finished his answer with a sorrowful pout, once again rendering the Navigator unable to breathe from the laughter stealing her oxygen "Th-that's too b-bad," she giggled.

"Well yeah," Zoro whined "because you can't play without the ball…Hey!" he brightened suddenly turning a dopey grin to Nami "think I could become a ping pong champion with three paddles?"

"Sure you can," Nami chuckled as she shook her head "anything is possible."

"Yep," Zoro nodded, "I wanna do that…after I beat Mihawk…Hey, why do they call him Hawkeye?"

Zoro's head wobbled as he turned his question to Sanji, looking at him with an unstable gaze. The cook snorted, but tried to answer as seriously as he could manage "Well," he began "maybe because his eyesight is so good,"

"Yeah," Zoro answered with a simple nod "It is good," then he shook his head "but that's not what I mean!"

"What do you mean then?" Sanji asked.

"What I mean," Zoro said emphasizing each word before plunging into elaborating his question "his name is HawkEYE, when he has two…eyes, I mean. He has two…so his name should be HawkEYES…because he has two…I only got one, but he gots two. You see my point?"

"Uh-huh," Sanji grunted smiling ever so slightly "so if I may ask, how did you lose your eye?"

Zoro sighed, pausing in such a way that Nami and Sanji expected a horribly traumatizing and tragic story on how he lost his eye before answering them "A monkey stole it,"

The two looked at him in shock before cracking up in uncontrollable guffaws "A m-m-monkey?" Nami cackled.

"Ok," I'm calling that answer being influenced by the flower, because there is no way a monkey could steal your eye," the cook laughed.

"I'm telling the truth," Zoro whispered, leaning close to Sanji.

"Suuu-re," the blond replied with a sarcastic grin.

"Hey, it wasn't a normal monkey," Zoro slurred his bottom lip poking out in a pout "he was a really big monkey, with a sword…Monkeys shouldn't have swords."

Nami smiled "Thus why we don't give Luffy one,"

"That's a good point," Zoro nodded happily "you're smart Nami."

Nami rolled her eyes knowing that she would never get even half of the compliments she was getting from the swordsman if he were in his right mind "That's what friends are for," she chuckled lightly.

"You're my friend?" The green haired man asked, his one eye wide with shock "Like for real's?"

Nami felt confusion cloud her features as she looked on the man "Of course," she replied "why wouldn't you think so?"

"Because you always yell at me, and hit me," Zoro replied innocently with no hint of malice before turning to Sanji "and _you _make fun of my hair, calling me moss head."

The two felt their hearts clench as they reconsidered past words and actions, but Zoro kept talking, oblivious to the inner turmoil he was causing "I tried dying my hair black once," he rambled "but I'm allergic to hair dye…and let me tell you…hair dye allergies are _not_ pretty."

"Well, just because we yell or tease doesn't mean we aren't your friends," Nami said softly giving the green haired man a comforting smile.

"Really?" Zoro asked turning his face to Sanji "Are you my friend?"

Sanji blinked, turning to Nami only to find her glaring at him, silently promising him death should he deny it, and merely stammered his answer "O-of course we are, I m-mean, even brothers fight, right?"

Zoro's face split into a wide grin "Yeah," he said in a happy slur "we're bro's, brothers, brothers from different mothers."

Sanji snorted as another flutter of laughter shook his frame "Yeah," he chuckled "something like that."

"I'm gonna sing," Zoro sighed before leaning heavily on the cook "You got a friend in me, you got a friend in me, when the road looks rough ahead, and you're miles and miles from a nice warm bed, just remember what you're old pal said, you got a friend in me,"

Nami grinned, while Sanji rolled his eyes, tolerating the loud singing in understanding that it was influenced by the flower's spray.

Zoro turned to Nami, a dopey grin on his face as he continued singing "Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am, bigger and stronger too," the swordsman snorted giving the Navigator a mischievous grin "Maybe…" before squeezing the two of them in a hug "but none of them will ever love you, the way I do, it's me and you boy,"

Nami finally sighed, no longer wanting to fight against the insanity, and instead decided to have a little fun with their currently loopy swordsman "And as the years go by," she sang along with Zoro "our friendship will never die,"

Sanji, encouraged by a wink from Nami, shrugged his shoulders and joined in "You're gonna see it's our destiny, you've got a friend in me, yeah you've got a friend in me."

Zoro's delighted cackled reverberated down the mine shaft "That was fun, encore!"

…..

Hours later, Zoro woke on the couch in the galley of the ship, a pounding headache hammering his brain, and brought two meaty hands to scrub his face "Ohhh," he moaned squinting against the sunlight as he struggled to sit up "my head, what happened?"

Sanji walked over, smirking as he handed a soothing lavender tea down to the man "what do you remember last?"

"Uh…" Zoro paused his hand never leaving his aching cranium "a…flower? And then everything else is kind of a blur."

"Yeah, the flower knocked you flat on your butt, and you were pretty out of it for a while," The cook chuckled as he considered his next words "not to worry though, Nami-swan was able to get her treasure."

"Great," Zoro muttered sipping the tea, and wincing at the throbbing in his head "so glad the sea witch got her treasure…" suddenly he paused and gave the cook a sharp glance "did you two carry me all the way back here?"

"Yep," Sanji chirped as he began to stir the stew cooking on the stove.

Zoro groaned "I can only imagine what the witch will charge for that,"

"Don't worry," Sanji smirked "she isn't going to charge. Nami-swan is so sweet and understanding about the whole situation, when I asked her after we arrived about what she would charge you she said not to worry about it."

"Seriously?"

Sanji could hear the shocked disbelief in Zoro's tone as he answered with a badly concealed grin "Yeah, I believe her exact words were 'You've got a friend in me,'"

Zoro felt a rope of dread coil in his stomach as the words struck an alarm bell shrieking in his brain. Sanji merely snickered over the stew, because what actually happened was that Nami had told the cook that Zoro had repaid her in the sheer amount of blackmail they had collected. Now they just had to find a way to use it, and hopefully the marimo will get his memory back so they can have the opportunity.

**So what you think?**

**The winner of the One Shot Awards will be announced NEXT CHAPTER, but please review and tell me what you think. I've never tried anything like this before, and I hope it was as funny as I want it to be.**


	12. Kitten

**Alright, I was given a hilarious one shot idea I had been given that I couldn't resist!**

**Enjoy!**

If you were to ask anyone's opinion of Roronoa Zoro's personality, you would probably hear a great many remarks concerning his stoic nature, herculean strength, and sheer skill with a blade. If you were to ask his friends, they would give you a closer more intimate view of the swordsman, speaking of his love of a good bottle of sake, the way he would sit down with a happy sigh and snuggle into whatever nap spot he had selected before sinking into a deep sleep, or even how he would show the rare show of endearing childish attitude be it through giving a Tarzan yell while swinging on a vine or making faces behind a marine while he is talking.

But what if you were to ask his crew? That is where you would hear tales that no one would believe, not in a million years, such as the day the crew discovered the swordsman sitting in a corner of the men's quarters knitting a new haramaki, or the night Sanji walked in on Zoro reading several biographies of notorious swordsman down through the ages with a pair of reading glasses slipping down his nose, or a particular favorite when the moss headed man had instigated a food fight just to spite the cook and the entire crew had ended up taking part until they were laying on the floor laughing hysterically.

This particular story however is probably one of the more…adorable ones in Zoro's repertoire.

They had recently docked at a peaceful (aka "boring" in Luffy's opinion) island, and they had done their usual routine by separating into small group to go shopping for the various ship necessities. Zoro had left, already having taken care of carrying all the supplies to the deck where Sanji could begin the tedious task of going through each box and sorting the various goods into their respective homes, and the swordsman had done what he always did which was go in search of the nearest bar.

But today, he would be interrupted.

As he walked down the main street, his green eye scanning for the desired establishment, a soft mewling cry caused his ears to twitch. Almost as if the soft sound were a magnet, the swordsman felt himself get drawn off his original path, and towards the source. There in the dirt, a small grey kitten with black stripes and piercing blue eyes peeked out from between a stack of wooden crates, its mouth opening as it gave a mew of hunger.

Zoro was strong, one of the strongest men to be found anywhere really, and he could look danger in the face without even twitching, but there was something about small animals that he had a weakness for, specifically little furry ones. And cats were a particular weakness.

It didn't much in the way of observation skills to see that the man had a soft spot for the ship's doctor, be it because of the reindeer's childish wonder concerning life, or the obvious fact that he was adorable considering that he was just such a small animal. Yes, Zoro had a weakness for small furry creatures of the four legged kind, and now this particular little kitty was giving the wide pleading eye that tugged at his heart and made his stomach knot in guilt. Kneeling down, the swordsman stretched out one hand and scratched then kitten behind one velvet ear, smiling softly when the little thing began to purr.

"Sorry little guy," Zoro sighed "but someone as defenseless as you wouldn't make it very long on the _Thousand Sunny_."

The kitten ignored the perfectly logical explanation by rubbing its head up and down the man's fingers, eventually cuddling into his legs, running its body against his pant legs, a rumbling purr accompanying every movement. Zoro groaned as his heart gave a painful twinge at the sight, and a severe mental battle ensued. Biting his bottom lip in careful thought the man considered his options, and in the end he made a decision.

…..

"Sanji-Kun, are we almost ready to go?"

"Hai Nami-Swan!" the cook sang "I only have this last box to put away, and we will be ready to leave!"

"We can't leave without Zoro!" Luffy cried.

"Why not?" Sanji smirked as he lit a cigarette "The guy is practically useless anyway."

Robin smiled at the exchange knowing that the cook did not truly carry that opinion, before perking up as she heard familiar footsteps "It appears Kenshi-san is on his way now,"

The crew turned to watch the swordsman walk up the gangplank, his steps slow and measured as he almost glided up the wooden board. He seemed to be walking normally, yet something was…off. No one could quite put their finger on it, but it almost seemed as if the man was trying particularly hard to appear normal. The cook narrowed his eyes at his rival, sensing the shift in the stoic man's personality, and directed a sneer in that general direction.

"Hey Moss head," Sanji snarled "what took you so long? Nami-swan was ready to leave almost half an hour ago."

"Well I'm here, so tell the sea witch we can leave," Zoro shot back before turning towards the crow's nest and beginning to carefully climb up the ladder.

"HEY!" Nami yelled "If we're going to leave, then I need you to raise the anchor!"

Zoro sighed "But I-Ah, never mind!"

Jumping down from the ladder with unnatural grace, the man stomped towards the anchor, causing Usopp to cock his head in confusion "Geez Zoro, what's your problem? You never forget to raise anchor when we leave."

"Yeah," Sanji added "what crawled up your butt and died?"

Franky rolled his eyes at the cook before piping up "I think what we mean to say is, why ya acting so strange Bro?"

"No reason," Zoro muttered, hunching over and walking past his crew as quick as he could with his head down.

Robin felt one eyebrow raise with intrigue as she studied their swordsman's odd behavior before noticing an even odder addition to his wardrobe "Kenshi-san," she chuckled softly "your haramaki is escaping."

Zoro cringed, looking down only to see the small lump he had hidden in his stomach band beginning to make its way down past his hip and onto his back. The swordsman quickly turned around walking backwards to the anchor, the crew suddenly finding amused grins lighting their faces at the heated blush creeping across Zoro's. As one the Straw Hat pirates advanced on their swordsman, each one wearing a malicious look of curiosity inflamed malice.

"Zoro-kun," Nami sang evilly "What are you hiding behind your back?"

"N-Nothing," Zoro replied, his façade of calm innocence crumbling with every second.

"Oh no," Robin smiled "I believe it is something."

Luffy gave a pout as he too walked towards the moss headed man "Zoro, why are you lying to us? What's the secret?"

"It's not really a secret," Zoro tried "it's just…uh…"

"It's just what?" Chopper asked his large pleading eyes making Zoro's heart give a painful squeeze.

"Yes Zoro-san," Brook said softly "please tell us what it is you are hiding from the rest of your crew."

"And even if it is," Sanji smirked "we're gonna find out somehow anyway, so it would be better to just take the easy way instead of being at the tender mercies of your crew."

Words such as _Strip Search _and _Debt Increase _as well as _Revenge via Luffy Logic_ ran quickly through the swordsman's mind causing him to give a small shiver of fear, unfortunately he was spared being forced to make a decision for at that very moment the lump traveled back around his waist and popped up from the top of the haramaki to face the crew and give a happy meow.

Zoro looked down in horror as his secret literally declared its existence in front of his nakama and quickly shoved the furry striped head back down into the haramaki "Uh…" he said slowly before finding absolutely no words to say.

"Is that…a…cat?" Nami asked hesitantly before her face began to screw up as she fought the giggles.

"M-m-maybe?"

"A…cat?" Sanji reiterated his face blank with confusion.

The kitten in question popped back up and gave another loud meow before purring and rubbing it's head against Zoro's chest causing the man to shove it back down into the green material of his stomach band. Chopper giggled at the sight, and Franky leaned down towards the diminutive doctor.

"What'd the cat say?"

"Huh?" Chopper cast his surprised glance to the cyborg before giving a happy grin "he said that Zoro saved him from the alley, and is very nice."

Robin smiled gently before approaching the blushing swordsman and holding out her arms "May I, Kenshi-san?"

"Yeah sure, whatever," he muttered while pulling the cat out of his haramaki and gently depositing it into the Archaeologist's waiting hands.

Nami immediately ran over, crooning at how adorable the kitten was "He's so cute!" the red head exclaimed.

Sanji scratched the cat behind one ear, giving a rare genuine smile at the way the cat leaned into his touch with a loud purr "Never took you for a cat person moss head."

Zoro gave a petulant pout "I didn't mean to pick him up, but he was all alone in the alley, and he looked hungry, you of all people should understand that."

Sanji chuckled before smirking at the swordsman "Touché," he conceded with a shrug.

"So what did you name him?" Usopp asked, dodging around Luffy as the captain tried to make a grab for the cat before he got his turn.

"I didn't-I mean-he's not…"suddenly the swordsman gave a resigned sigh knowing that no excuse or denial would fly with this group and instead was bound to tell the truth "I was thinking of calling him Smokey," he muttered unhappily.

"Or," Nami giggled, cuddling the kitten to her cheek "we could name him Smoker!"

Franky gave a long loud laugh "That's perfect! Then we can tell the old geezer how we made him a member of our crew, and no one would realize it's our cat!"

"Whoa, wait," Zoro cried "we're actually keeping him?"

"That's hilarious," Usopp cackled the entire crew oblivious to Zoro frozen state of shock "Can you imagine his face if the kitty got his own wanted poster? Epic!"

"Just like that, we're keeping him?" Zoro continued once again being ignored by the crew.

"That almost makes me want to go find another cat so we could name her Tashigi-chan!" Sanji joined in making the others bust up laughing.

"And no one's against this?" the swordsman ranted in the background.

"Yosh!" Luffy cried "we could have a whole bunch of cats named after the Marines!"

Nami doubled over laughing, her hands clutching her stomach as Usopp grabbed the cat "Your grandpa would be furious," she giggled "I can just see his reaction!"

Zoro growled in defeat "So I worried for nothing?" he muttered.

"Oh not nothing," Sanji whispered leaning close to the swordsman to ensure he was the only one that heard "because the next chance I get, I'm sending the marines an adorable picture of you and Smoker for your new Wanted Poster."

Zoro felt his eyebrow twitch before casting eyes full of bloodlust on the cook "You do that, you'll be lucky if you'll be able to walk much less eat food without drinking it through a straw."

"Ooh I'm so scared," Sanji said with a theatrical shudder "Zoro, the supposed swordsman who has a secret love for cats might get me."

"HEY!" Zoro bellowed "I saved his life, he was in a dirty alleyway without any food, I'd like to see you walk away from that!"

"You," Sanji teased with a grin while poking Zoro on the forehead "are a _biiiig_ softy, you know that? All those scary glares and acting tough around us is just a show, and you sneaking that kitty onboard just proved it."

"I mean it," Zoro snarled "I'm gonna kill you,"

"Push over," Sanji sang while walking up the stairs towards the galley.

"Sanji," Zoro warned his voice dangerously low.

"Animal lover,"

"You will die,"

"Teddy Bear,"

"Ero-cook,"

"Cat lady,"

"DIE!"

**So was it cute enough for you?**

**Review!**


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